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The River Tay originates in the Highlands and flows down through Strathtay (see Strath), in the centre of Scotland, through Perth and into the Firth of Tay, south of Dundee. It is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. It is the largest river in the UK by volume of discharge. Its catchment is approximately 2000 square miles (the Tweed's is 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2) and the Spey's is 1097 square miles).
The Tay, a famous salmon river, rises in the Highlands and flows down into the centre of Scotland through Perth and Dundee. It is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh longest in the UK. The Tay drains much of the lower region of the Highlands, its source being high on the slopes of Beinn Laoigh. The source is only c. 20 miles (c. 32 km) from the west coast town of Oban, in Argyll and Bute. The Tay flows through Perth and Kinross to the Firth of Tay and the North Sea, some 100 miles (160 km) to the east. The river has a variety of names in its upper catchment: for the first few miles the river is known as the River Connonish; then it is called the River Fillan; and then the name changes again to the River Dochart until it flows into Loch Tay at Killin. The River Tay emerges from Loch Tay at Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, and flows from there to Perth which, in historical times, was the lowest bridging point of the river. Below Perth the river becomes tidal and enters the Firth of Tay. The largest city on the river, Dundee, lies on the north bank of the Firth.
The Tay presents a formidable barrier to land communication, but a vital waterway into the heart of Scotland. Perth's position at the western end of the Sidlaws, the highest navigable point on the river, and, until Victorian times also the lowest bridging point, was of strategic importance, and made Perth a crucial junction of land, sea and riverborne communication.
Three harbour sites are known, the earliest was close beside the bridge at the end of the High Street appearing on the earliest plan of the town in 1715 and on Rutherford 1774, and remaining in use into the 19th century. It has not been excavated, but timber structures have been seen up to 5 m below street level beneath the City Chambers.
The second harbour lay at the mouth of the town lade, originally an open canal, at the junction of what are now Canal Street and Tay Street, and was excavated in 1987-8. This harbour also appears on Petit 1715 and Rutherford 1774.
During the 18th century, the harbour expanded south along the Tay, and in the 19th century the third harbour site developed at Friarton, about a mile down river from Perth. This harbour, like its predecessors, carries on a busy trade with Scandinavia, the Baltic, the Low Countries and the east coast of England. Modern ships rely on an artificial channel, winding its way between reed beds and sandbanks with ominous names like Sure As Death. The difficulties of the river passage ultimately limited the town’s development, and contributed to its eclipse by Dundee.
The maximum recorded flow of 2269 m3/s was recorded on 17 January 1993, when the river rose 6.48 metres above its usual level at Perth, and caused extensive flooding in the city. Were it not for the hydro-electric schemes upstream which impounded runoff, the peak would have been considerably higher. The highest ever flood at Perth occurred in 1814, when the river rose 7 m above the usual level, partly caused by a blockage of ice under the Smeaton's Bridge. Other severe flood events occurred in 1210 and 1648 when earlier bridges over the Tay at Perth were destroyed.