River Eitha

River in Wales

53°0′27.755″N 3°7′57.397″W / 53.00770972°N 3.13261028°W / 53.00770972; -3.13261028 • elevation430 m (1,410 ft) Mouth

• location

confluence with River Dee, Wrexham County Borough

• coordinates

52°57′42.450″N 3°2′31.494″W / 52.96179167°N 3.04208167°W / 52.96179167; -3.04208167

• elevation

50 m (160 ft)

The River Eitha (Welsh: Afon Eitha) is a small river in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is part of the River Dee catchment. Its name was probably derived from the Welsh word eithaf - "extremity", "farthest".

Sir Cyril Fox, in his surveys of Offa's Dyke and Wat's Dyke, identified a section of the Eitha as forming part of the frontier of Mercia in this area.^[1]

Course

The river rises, as the Trefechan Brook, high on the Ruabon Moors in the area known as Newtown Mountain, before flowing through a rather steep valley to two reservoirs above Penycae. At this point it is an important feeder for Dee Valley Water, formerly Wrexham Water. At Penycae, it is joined by the Nant y Crogfyn stream, which also flows down from the slopes of Ruabon Mountain. The Eitha's course then runs south-eastwards to Ruabon, where it was formerly used to power several watermills, passing through the centre of the village. From Ruabon the Eitha passes southwards through a deep, wooded valley within the Wynnstay Estate to join the River Dee near Chirk.

References

^ Fox, C. Offa's Dyke: a field survey of the western frontier works of Mercia in the seventh and eighth centuries A. D. Oxford University Press, 1955, pp.245-6

Wrexham County Borough

Wrexham County Borough Council

Principal settlements

Chirk
Wrexham (Built-up area)

Communities

Other villages and areas

Universities and colleges

Buildings and structures

Castles	Chirk Castle Holt Castle The Rofft (former)

Geography

Rivers	Alyn Cegidog Ceiriog Clywedog Dee Eitha Gwenfro Nant-y-Ffrith Wych Brook
Reservoirs and lakes	Acton Park Lake Cae Llwyd Reservoir Chirk Castle Lake Fenn's Bank Mere Gresford Flash Hanmer Mere Llyn Bedydd Monk's Pool Pant-yr-ochain Lake Penycae Top Reservoir Ty Mawr Reservoir Wynnstay Park Lake

Transport

Railway lines	Borderlands line Shrewsbury to Chester line
Former lines	Glyn Valley Tramway (re-opening proposed) Moss Valley Branch Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway Wrexham and Minera Railway Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway Croes Newydd (former) Former stations
Railway stations	Chirk railway station Gwersyllt railway station Ruabon railway station Wrexham Central railway station Wrexham General railway station Proposed stations Wrexham North railway station Wrexham South railway station