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The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the Bridgwater Bay Nature Reserve on the Bristol Channel, the Parrett drains about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area. The 37-mile (60 km) long river is tidal for 27 miles (43 km) up to Oath. Because the fall of the river between Langport and Bridgwater is only 1 foot per mile (0.2 m/km), it is prone to frequent flooding in winter and during high tides. During the Roman era the river was crossed by a ford, and in Anglo-Saxon times formed a boundary between Wessex and Dumnonia. From the medieval period the river served the Port of Bridgwater, enabling cargoes to be transported inland. The arrival of the railways led to a decline and commercial shipping now only docks at Dunball. The Parrett along with its connected waterways and network of drains supports an ecosystem that includes several rare species of flora and fauna. The River Parrett Trail has been established along the banks of the river. (more...)

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July 7: Independence Day in the Solomon Islands (1978); Tanabata in Japan

• 1834 – In New York City, evangelical Protestants began four nights of rioting against abolitionists.
• 1911 – The United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Russia signed the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife conservation issues.
• 1963 – The police of Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother and chief political adviser of President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem, attacked a group of American journalists who were covering a protest during the Buddhist crisis.
• 1983 – After writing a letter to Soviet premier Yuri Andropov, American schoolgirl Samantha Smith visited the Soviet Union as Andropov's personal guest, becoming known as "America's Youngest Ambassador".
• 1994 – Troops from the former North Yemen captured Aden, ending the Yemeni civil war.
• 2005 – Suicide bombers killed 52 people in a series of four explosions on London's public transport system (victims trapped in train pictured).

More anniversaries: July 6 – July 7 – July 8