Dee

Dee. 1. A river of Wales and England rising in Bala Lake, in Merionethshire, and flowing N.E. and N. through the "Vale of Llangollen, past Chester, which it nearly surrounds, and thence by an artificial tidal canal which is now silting up, and by an estuary into the Irish Sea. The estuary, which is 13 miles long and from 3 to 6 miles wide, is at low water a broad stretch of shining sands, with the river winding through, but at high water it has an imposing appearance. The rapid rise of the tide over the sands has been commemorated by Kingsley. Its ancient sacred character has been alluded to by Milton and Spenser. The river is crossed by an aqueduct of the Ellesmere Canal and by a viaduct of the Chester and Shrewsbury Railway, and at Connah's Quay there is a railway swing bridge. Canals connect the river with the central water system of England. 2. A river in Scotland rising in the Cairngorm Mountains, and flowing with a rapid fall through Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire to Aberdeen, where its stream has been diverted to form a harbour and docks. At the Linn of Dee the river flows through a chasm which is at one part only 4 feet wide. It passes Braemar, Balmoral, and Ballater, and has been a noted salmon river.