River Lee

River Lee
The Gearagh, a submerged woodland situated on the Lee near Macroom
Map of the River Lee drainage basin
Native name	An Laoi (Irish)
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Shehy Mountains near Gougane Barra
Mouth
• location	Celtic Sea at Cork Harbour mouth
Length	90 km (56 mi)[1]
Basin size	1,253.5 km2 (484.0 sq mi)[1]
Discharge
• average	40.4 m3/s (1,430 cu ft/s)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Curraheen River

The River Lee (Irish: An Laoi^[3]) is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, then passing through Cork Harbour on the south coast, one of the largest natural harbours in the world, to empty into the Celtic Sea. The catchment area of the River Lee is 1,253 km².^[4] The long-term average flow rate of the River Lee is 40.4 cubic metres per second (m³/s)^[4]

A hydro-electric scheme was built on the river, upstream from Cork City, and this part of the river now contains the Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra reservoirs. The river is crossed by 42 bridges, 29 of which are in Cork City, and one tunnel. The river also provides an 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) stretch of salmon fishing.^{[citation needed]}