The Thames River flows west through southwestern Ontario, through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair and covers a total length of 273 kilometres (170 mi). Its drainage basin is 5,825 square kilometres (2,249 sq. mi). Called Askunesippi, "Antlered River," by the Neutrals, it was renamed La Tranchée (later La Tranche), "The Trench," by early French explorers and settlers. It was given its present-day name in 1792 by the lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, John Graves SIMCOE after the Thames River in England.
Much of the Thames is surrounded by deciduous Carolinian forests, and has three main source branches—the North Thames, South Thames, and Middle Thames Rivers. Downriver from London, the lower part of the river flows through a shallow plain of sand and clay, with an average depth of 4 feet (1.2 m). The lower Thames flows through Delaware, Chatham, Thamesville. Tributaries of the Thames include the Avon River, Dingman Creek, Jeanettes Creek, McGregor Creek, Medway Creek, Pottersburg Creek, Stoney Creek, Trout Creek and Waubuno Creek. The river was the location of an important battle of the War of 1812. The Battle of the Thames was fought on October 5, 1813, between American General William Henry Harrison and British General Henry Proctor, along with Proctor's ally Tecumseh. On May 25, 1881, the river steamer 'Victoria' capsized and sank killing 182 passengers. In the early morning hours of July 11, 1883, London flooded from heavy rainfall. On April 27, 1937, the Thames River reached an all-time high of 21.5 feet above normal flow resulting in 5 deaths and over 1000 homes being damaged.