| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
  Location within Somerset | |
| Area of Search | Somerset |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | ST420220 |
| Coordinates | 50°59′40″N2°49′40″W / 50.99446°N 2.82783°W Coordinates: 50°59′40″N2°49′40″W / 50.99446°N 2.82783°W |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 213 hectares (2.13 km2; 0.82 sq mi) |
| Notification | 1985 |
| Natural England website | |
West Moor (grid reference ST420220 ) is a 213.0 hectare (526.3 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the River Parrett in Somerset, notified in 1985.
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, distinct from latitude and longitude. It is often called British National Grid (BNG).
The hectare is an SI accepted metric system unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides, or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and one hectare contains about 2.47 acres.
The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the Bridgwater Bay nature reserve on the Bristol Channel, the Parrett and its tributaries drain an area of 660 square miles (1,700 km2) – about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area, with a population of 300,000.
West Moor lies south of Curry Rivel, Langport, and Drayton, and northwest of Kingsbury Episcopi and is part of the extensive grazing marsh grasslands and ditch systems of the Somerset Levels and moors. The site contains some of the most diverse aquatic plant communities in the country. Rhynes often have a rich aquatic flora Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae). A rich invertebrate fauna, with many nationally and locally rare species is associated with the botanical diversity of the ditches. [1]
Curry Rivel is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Somerton and 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Taunton in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 2,148. The parish includes the hamlet of Burton Pynsent.
Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate parish that includes much of the town's outskirts.
Drayton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, focussed less than a mile from Curry Rivel and five miles southwest of Somerton in the South Somerset district. It adjoins the River Isle, near its confluence with the Parrett, and the former Westport Canal. The parish includes the hamlet of Midelney.
