| Dark Water | |
|---|---|
 Dark Water river and marsh, Lepe Country Park | |
  | |
| Location | |
| Country | England |
| County | Hampshire |
| District | New Forest |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | North of the south limits ofDibden Purlieu with New Forest National Park |
| • coordinates | 50°50′52″N1°24′26″W / 50.8478°N 1.4072°W /50.8478; -1.4072 |
| • elevation | 38 metres (125 ft) |
| Mouth | Solent |
• location | Lepe |
• coordinates | 50°47′04″N1°21′33″W / 50.7845°N 1.3592°W /50.7845; -1.3592 |
• elevation | 0 metres |
| Length | 5.5 mi |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Dark Water, Beaulieu River estuary, Solent (off English Channel off Atlantic Ocean) |
| River system | Dark Water basin |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Stock Water |
TheDark Water is a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) river in south-westHampshire, England. It flows south from a source a few metres north-east of theNew Forest, reaching the sea through the end of theBeaulieu River estuary, next to theSolent, atLepe, part of the national park.
Itsdrainage basin reduces towards its mouth. It drains (with its main tributary,Stock Water) most of the largely heathland forest's "Beaulieu Heath". It then drains smaller Blackwell Common (the south of which was called Blackfield Common after neighbouringBlackfield).[1] Then it drains the similar combined area: Horsemoor Copse, West Common (a meadow) and Chale Wood, below which narrow woods line one or both of the banks, beyond an inner marshy zone.
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