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The River Exe ( ) in England rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south (English Channel) coast of Devon. Historically, its lowest bridging point was at Exeter, though there is now a viaduct for the M5 motorway about south of the city centre. ==Topography== The river's name is an anglicisation of the Latin ''isca'', itself a modified form of a Brittonic root meaning "water" or, more exactly, "abounding in fish". (The same root separately developed into the English Axe and Esk, the Welsh Usk, and the Scottish whisky.) It seems to be a cognate of ''pysg'' ( of ''pysgod''), the Welsh word for 'fish'.〔Owen, H.W. & Morgan, R. 2007 Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales Gomer Press, Ceredigion; Gwasg Gomer / Gomer Press; page 484.〕 The river gave the name of Exeter ("fortress on the Exe") and many other settlements along its course, including Exford, Up Exe, Nether Exe, Exwick, Exton, Exminster, and Exebridge, where it is joined by the River Barle. The seaside town of Exmouth is at the east side of the estuary mouth, and Dawlish Warren is at the west, with its long sand spit extending across the mouth. The river fuelled Exeter's growth and relative importance in medieval times, and the city's first industrial area was developed at Exe Island, created by a series of leats to the west of the city. The island was home to numerous watermills producing paper and textiles; it also created valuable land through drainage of the marshlands.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Exeter Memories - the Leats of Exeter )〕 Tides on the river are limited at Countess Wear, the site of a weir commissioned by the Countess of Devon in the 13th century.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Exeter Memories - Countess Wear )〕 The Exeter Canal bypasses this weir to enable ships to reach Exeter Quay. At high tide, the estuary forms a large body of water that is heavily used for water sports especially sailing, windsurfing and water skiing. Railways run along both sides of the estuary. The Avocet Line from Exeter to Exmouth on the eastern side, and the South Devon main line on the western. The latter is on a causeway, the South Devon Railway sea wall from Powderham to Dawlish Warren. The Exmouth to Starcross Ferry carries passengers across the mouth of the estuary during the summer months, linking the harbour at Exmouth with a pier adjacent to Starcross railway station on the South Devon main line. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「River Exe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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