River Carron, Forth

, close to its mouth. The river rises in the Campsie Fells before flowing into the Carron Reservoir and along Strathcarron. It passes by Denny, then between Larbert and Falkirk, then past Carron village. Just as the M9 motorway crosses the river, the Forth and Clyde canal joins the river. It then flows into the Forth near Grangemouth. The tributary water sources are: Carron Reservoir, Avon Burn, Earl’s Burn, Auchenbowie Burn, Loch Coulter Reservoir, Bonny Water, Glencryan Burn, Red Burn, Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal. Carron Bridge The Carron Bridge crosses the Carron at the eastern extremity of Strathcarron Forest. It was built in 1695 to replace a ford that had existed for many hundreds of years as part of an old drove road from Kilsyth to Stirling. This bridge, with its two span stone arches, looks larger than it needs to be because the river was much larger before Carron Dam was built to create a reservoir in the 1930s. Historical references The river is thought by some to be the "Itys" described by Ptolemy in Geographia, his extensive 2nd century compilation of geographical knowledge. Nennius, the Welsh historian of the 9th century, believed the name of the Carron was derived from Carausius, the 3rd century Roman commander who declared himself emperor of Britannia and northern Gaul. The name may in fact come from the British caer avon, meaning "river of the forts", alluding to the Roman fortifications built on its banks as a barrier between their territory and that of the Picts. ==Strathcarron==

Strathcarron Loch / Carron Valley Reservoir The Strathcarron Reservoir, completed in 1939, is stocked with brown trout by the Carron Valley Fishery. The reservoir has proved to be an ideal habitat for the Carron's indigenous brown trout population. Thriving on the rich feeding of the newly flooded strath and with easy access to its many excellent spawning and nursery streams, the "wild brownies" of Strathcarron Reservoir are numerous. The company's local coal mining operations were known as the "Carron Collieries". The villages of Carronhall and Carronshore contained dwellings for miners and factory workers. This area was serviced by the Carron Branch Railway. These big guns were used during the Napoleonic Wars in melees such as the Battle of Trafalgar as well as various naval battles during the American Civil War. The Carron Company was broken up in 1982 and various parts of the company closed down, Carron Bathrooms Ltd who manufacture acrylic baths and shower trays, and Carron Phoenix, who manufacture kitchen sinks, are still in existence. ==Warships==

The USS Carronade (named after the cannon that was named after the river), was a ship of the U.S. Navy that was completed in 1955. Finished too late to serve in the Korean War, she was taken out of service but re-commissioned for the Vietnam War. She was decommissioned again in 1969. ==Carronade Island==

In July 1916, was on wartime patrol and came to a small island on the northern coast of Western Australia. The crew discovered two bronze cannons standing apart and pointing into the air. Since at the time these guns were erroneously thought to be carronades, the island on which they had been found was named Carronade Island after this discovery. Several 20th century observers misconstrued the origin of these guns and they were long thought to give weight to the theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia. However, scientists at the Western Australian Museum in Fremantle have recently made a detailed analysis and have determined that these weapons are almost certainly of Makassan, rather than European, origin. ==See also==