Avon (river, Lower)

Avon (river, Lower), also known as the Bristol or Lower Avon, river, south-western England, 121 km (75 mi) long. It flows south and west through Bath and Bristol, entering the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth. The last few miles of the river, between Bristol and its mouth, pass through the Avon Gorge, an impressive canyon spanned by the famous suspension bridge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. For several centuries this stretch was navigated by ocean-going ships to and from the port of Bristol including, in 1497, the first voyage to Newfoundland of John Cabot, and in 1843, Brunel's steamship Great Britain, built and launched in Bristol, the first iron ship in the world.