II. 



The Physical Features of the Norfolk Broads. 



THE rivers that drain the eastern slope of England have, on the 

 whole, a somewhat similar course ; they rise on the eastern side 

 of the series of hills that forms the main watershed of the country, 

 they flow with a gradually decreasing gradient till they expand into 

 a triangular estuary widely open to the sea. Such is the case with 

 the Tees, Tyne, and Thames, and the rivers that unite to form the 

 Humber and the Orwell, or that flow into the Wash. In the case, 

 however, of the Yare, and its tributaries the Waveney and the Bure, 

 which drain the region between the Fenlands and the Orwell, the 

 conditions are very different : instead of the large, broad-mouthed 

 estuaries, the entrance is very narrow, and the river expands behind 

 into an extensive sheet of water. The shoaling, moreover, has not 

 resulted in a series of long banks parallel to the main flow of the 

 water, as in the Thames, or in broad flats of marsh either on the 

 sides as in the Humber, or at the head as in the Wash ; the rivers 

 flow through tracts of land formed, at least in the upper part of the 

 course, more by the growth of water-plants than by the actual 

 deposition of mud or sand ; and, finally, the rivers remain compara- 

 tively insignificant streams, while the main water area is formed by 

 the isolated sheets now so well known as the Norfolk Broads. 



That the area over which these are distributed was once an 

 estuary, similar to those of the Thames, Wash, and Humber, there 

 can be no doubt, from reasons that will appear later. And, as the 

 rivers that formed this estuary resemble in their source and general 

 course the others of the east of England, it does not at first appear 

 easy to see why, in this case alone, the estuary should have entirely 

 silted up, or why, in so doing, it should have given rise to a type of 

 scenery that is quite unique. In searching for an explanation, one 

 naturally tries to obtain a first clue from the Broads themselves, by 

 asking what is known of their origin. Etymology is at once ready 

 with the answer that the name is derived from the Saxon Braedan, 

 "to broaden," signifying that they are simply the broadenings of 

 rivers, much as Windermere has gained its title of " the winding 

 river lake." But a very brief visit to the area is sufficient to demon- 

 strate the error of this view of the case. Having heard of the 

 fame of Broad sunsets, the writer, on the evening of his arrival 



