River Dee, Aberdeenshire Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids River Dee
The River Dee at Potarch, between Aboyne and Banchory.
The north east of Scotland, showing the location of the Dee.
Native name	Uisge Dhè
Country	Scotland
County	Aberdeenshire
Physical characteristics
Main source	Wells of Dee, Braeriach, Cairngorms 1,220 m (4,000 ft)
River mouth	Aberdeen 57°08′32″N 2°04′02″W / 57.1422°N 2.0673°W / 57.1422; -2.0673
Length	140 km (87 mi)
Basin features
Basin size	2,100 km² (810 sq mi)

The River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through southern Aberdeenshire to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen. The area it passes through is known as Deeside, or Royal Deeside in the region between Braemar and Banchory because Queen Victoria came to love the place and built Balmoral Castle there.

Deeside is a popular area for tourists, due to the combination of scenic beauty and historic and royal associations. The scenic beauty of Deeside is recognised by its inclusion in the Cairngorms National Park and the Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area. The Dee is popular with anglers, and is one of the most famous salmon fishing rivers in the world.

The New Statistical Account of Scotland attributed the name Dee as having been used as early as the second century AD in the work of the Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy, as Δηοῦα (=Deva), meaning 'Goddess', indicating a divine status for the river in the beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of the area. There are several other rivers of the same name in Great Britain, and these are believed to have similar derivations, as may the Dee's near neighbour to the north, the River Don.