| River Don | |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Scotland |
| Subdivision Type3: | County |
| Subdivision Name3: | Aberdeenshire |
| Length: | 131km (81miles) |
| Discharge1 Location: | Parkhill |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 20.64m3/s |
| Source1 Location: | Ladder Hills |
| Mouth Location: | Bridge of Don, Aberdeen |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 57.176°N -2.077°W |
| Basin Size: | 1312km2 |
The River Don (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Dheathain) is a river in north-east Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce. Its main tributary, the River Ury, joins at Inverurie.
The Don rises in the peat flat beneath Druim na Feithe, and in the shadow of Glen Avon, before flowing quietly past the ice-age moraine and down to Cock Bridge, below the picturesque site of the recently demolished Delnadamph Lodge. Several streams, the Dhiver, Feith Bhait, Meoir Veannaich, Cock Burn and the Allt nan Aighean merge to form the embryonic Don. Water from the north of Brown Cow Hill drains into the Don, while water from the west side runs into the River Spey and that from the south side into the Dee. The Don follows a circuitous route eastwards past Corgarff Castle, through Strathdon and the Howe of Alford before entering the North Sea just north of Old Aberdeen.
The chief tributaries are Conrie Water, Ernan Water, Water of Carvie, Water of Nochty, Deskry Water, Water of Buchat, Kindy Burn, Bucks Burn, Mossat Burn, Leochel Burn and the River Ury.
The river was recorded by the 2nd century AD cosmographer Ptolemy of Alexandria (d. c 168) as Δηουανα Devona,[1] meaning 'goddess', an indication the river was once a sacred one. Near Kintore, not distant from the Don, is the Deers Den Roman Camp. In 1750 the Don's lower reaches were channelled towards the sea, moving its confluence with the sea northwards.
| Discharge of the River Don at various locations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Station | data-sort-type="number" | Start | data-sort-type="number" | Catchment Area | data-sort-type="number" | Mean Flow |
| 1997 | 1030NaN0 | 2.940NaN0 | ||||
| Alford | 1973 | 4990NaN0 | 10.220NaN0 | |||
| Haughton | 1969 | 7870NaN0 | 14.330NaN0 | |||
| Parkhill (Dyce) | 1969 | 12730NaN0 | 20.640NaN0 | |||
Prior to 2016 the maximum levels and flows were recorded during the floods of November 2002, with peak levels on the 22nd of that month reaching at Haughton near Inverurie, and at Parkhill. These were exceeded in January 2016 during the 2015–16 floods, when levels at Haughton reached, whilst those at Parkhill were over a metre higher than previously at .[2] [4] The resultant flooding forced residents along the river to evacuate their homes, in some cases with the help of local rescue teams. Areas affected included Port Elphinstone, Kintore, and Donside in Aberdeen where a number of residential care homes were evacuated as a precaution.[4] [5]
Strathdon attracts visitors for salmon and trout fishing as well as its castles and scenery. A 100kW hydro scheme at Tillydrone is on the former site of the Donside Papermill.