CLYDE, the principal river of Lanarkshire, Scotland (Welsh, Clwyd, "far heard," "strong," the Glotta of Tacitus), also the name of the estuary which forms the largest firth on the west coast.
Daer Water, rising in Gana Hill (2,190 ft.) on the borders of Lanarkshire and Dumfriesshire, after a course of Iol m., and Potrail Water, rising 3 m. farther west in the same hilly country (1,928 ft.) after running north-north-east for 7 m., unite 33 m. S. of Elvanfoot to form the Clyde, of which they are the principal headstreams, though many burns in these uplands are contributory. The old rhyme that "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise a'out o'ae hillside" is not true, for Little Clyde Burn here referred to, rising in Clyde Law (2,190 ft.), is only an affluent and not a parent stream. From the junction of the Daer and Potrail the river runs mainly northward, but winds eastward around Tinto Hill, somewhat north-westerly to near Carstairs, where it bends west and south. From Harperfield, a point about 4 m. above Lanark, it keeps a north-westerly direction for the rest of its course as a river. The total length from the head of the Daer to Dumbarton is Io6 m., and it drains an area estimated at 1,481 square m. It is thus the third longest river in Scotland (being exceeded by the Spey and Tay), but in respect of the indus tries on its lower banks and its sea-borne commerce, it is one of the most important rivers in the world. Near Lanark it is broken by four celebrated falls (Bonnington, Corra, Dundaff and Stone byres Linns) within a distance of 34 m. Within this distance the river falls 23o ft. From Stonebyres Linn to the sea the fall is practically 4 ft. in every mile. The chief villages and towns on or close to the river between its source and Glasgow are Craw ford, Lamington, New Lanark, Lanark, Hamilton, Bothwell, Blantyre and Uddingston. At Bowling (pop. I,o18)—the point of transhipment for the Forth and Clyde Canal—the river widens, the fairway being indicated by a stone wall continued seawards as far as Dumbarton. Dunglass Point, near Bowling, is the western terminus of the wall of Antoninus, or Grim's Dyke.
As far down as the falls the Clyde remains a pure fishing stream, but from the point at which it becomes an industrial river its waters are contaminated. Towards the end of the i8th century the river was yet fordable at the Broomielaw in the heart of Glasgow, but since that period the stream has been converted into a water way deep enough to allow large ships to anchor in the harbour (see GLASGOW). Clydesdale, as the valley of the upper Clyde is called, begins in the district watered by headstreams of the river, the course of which in effect it follows as far as Bothwell, a dis tance of so m. It is renowned for its breed of cart-horses (spe cifically known as Clydesdales), its orchards, fruit fields and market gardens, its coal and iron mines.
From Dumbarton, where the firth is commonly considered to begin, to Ailsa Craig, where it ends, the fairway measures 64 m. Its width varies from I m. at Dumbarton to 37 m. from Girvan to the Mull of Kintyre. The depth varies from a low-tide minimum of 22 ft. in the navigable channel at Dum barton to nearly ioo fathoms in the Sound of Bute and at other points. The Cumbraes, Bute and Arran are the principal islands in its waters. The sea lochs all lie on the Highland shore, and comprise Gare Loch, Loch Long, Loch Goil, Holy Loch, Loch Striven, Loch Riddon and Loch Fyne. The only rivers of any importance feeding the Firth are the Ayrshire streams, of which the chief are the Garnock, Irvine, Ayr, Doon and Girvan. The tide ascends above Glasgow, where its farther rise is barred by a weir. The head-ports are Glasgow, Port Glasgow, Greenock, Ardrossan, Irvine, Troon, Ayr and Campbeltown. In addition to harbour lights, beacons on rocks and light-ships, there are light houses on Ailsa Craig, Sanda, Davaar, Pladda, Holy Isle and Little Cumbrae, and at Turnberry Point, Cloch Point and Toward Point. Health and holiday resorts on the lochs, islands and main land coast are numerous.
