London, England - The Geography of the Capital of the United Kingdom
London is in the southeast of England, 45 miles west of the Thames, and covers an area of 1579 square kilometers. That places the city as one of the largest cities in the world. The altitude ranges from sea level to 245 m in Biggin Hill.
The river crosses the city from west to east, has had a great influence on the development of the city. London was founded on the north bank of the river and has been for several centuries, a single bridge, London Bridge. The main objective of the city has a limitation on the Thames, to the construction of a number of other bridges in the eighteenth century. The city expanded in all directions after this expansion has been hampered by many natural obstacles.
Thames was once wider and shallower than today. The banks of the river have improved greatly, most of the tributaries have been diverted and now are underground, sometimes turned into sewers. Thames is tidal and subject to London is largely flood. Threat of floods have also increased over time, given the steady rise in water level during the high tide and the inclination to reduce Britain (raised in the north, lower in the south) caused by isostatic rebound. A dam, the Thames Barrier, built over the River Thames in Woolwich in the 1970s, to overcome this threat. In 2005, however, has proposed building a dam with less than fifteen miles downstream, to avoid future risks of flooding.