River Looe

{{Short description|River in south-east Cornwall, England}}{{About|the river in Cornwall|two rivers in Devon|River Lew}}

{{use British English|date=December 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox river

| name = River Looe

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| name_other = East Looe River, West Looe River

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| image = File:River Looe.jpg

| image_size = 250 px

| image_caption = River Looe in Looe

| map = FoweyLooeRiversMapCornwallUK.gif

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| map_caption = Sketchmap of the East Looe and West Looe rivers in Cornwall

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| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = England

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = Cornwall

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| length = {{convert|30.48|mi|km|abbr=on}}

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| basin_size = {{convert|36.3|sqmi|abbr=on}}

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{{River Looe Routemap}}

The River Looe ({{langx|kw|Logh}}, meaning deep water inlet){{cite book|last1=Ekwall|first1=Eilert|title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names|date=1960|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|page=304|edition=4|oclc=400936}} is a river in south-east Cornwall, which flows into the English Channel at Looe.{{cite map|title =Plymouth & Launceston |map =201|date =2009|scale =1:50,000 |series =Landranger|publisher =Ordnance Survey|edition =D1|isbn =9780319231463}} It has two main branches, the East Looe River and the West Looe River. The eastern branch has its source near St Cleer only {{convert|0.5|km|order=flip}} away from the Golitha Falls on the River Fowey, and flows south, passing close to the western outskirts of Liskeard. The western branch has its source near Dobwalls.

South of Liskeard, the Looe Valley Line railway follows the course of the East Looe River to Looe. The railway is so close to the river that flooding is a common occurrence.{{cite web|title=Seaton, Looe & Fowey Catchment Management Plan|url=http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:1365/OBJ/19001443.pdf|website=environmentdata.org|publisher=National Rivers Authority|access-date=22 December 2016|location=4.8.2 Local Perspective|page=56|format=PDF|date=December 1994}}

The lowest stretch of the rivers combine to form the tidal harbour and estuary of Looe. The combined length of the two rivers (including the tidal confluence) is {{convert|49.05|km|order=flip}}.{{cite web|title=West Looe River|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB108048002000|website=environment.data.gov.uk|publisher=Environment Agency|access-date=22 December 2016}}{{cite web|title=Looe|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB520804806300|website=environment.data.gov.uk|publisher=Environment Agency|access-date=22 December 2016}}{{cite web|title=East Looe River|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB108048001440|website=environment.data.gov.uk|publisher=Environment Agency|access-date=22 December 2016}}

The river is tidal to Watergate on the West Looe and Sandplace on the East Looe. After Sandplace, the river was connected to the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal so that minerals and stone could be transported from the workings and quarries above Liskeard to the harbour at Looe.{{cite book|last1=Daniel|first1=John|title=A geography of Cornwall, historical ecclesiastical, civil, natural, and parochial|date=1854|publisher=Longman & Co|location=London|page=124|chapter=Hundred of West|oclc=58545739}} The tidal estuarine section is an example of a Ria (a drowned river valley) and at low tide, the rivers almost dry up to a very small natural level.{{cite web|title=River Estuary - Looe Estuary|url=http://looemarineconservation.org/looe-marine-conservation-group/wildlife-around-looe/river-estuary/|website=looemarineconservation.org|publisher=Looe Marine Conservation Group|access-date=22 December 2016}}