The River Wear (/ˈwɪər/ ⓘ, WEER) in Northern England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland.

The Wear wends in a steep valley through the cathedral city of Durham and gives its name to Weardale in its upper reach and Wearside by its mouth.

[1] An alternative but very problematic etymology might involve *wẹ:d-r-,[1] from a lengthened form of the Indo-European root *wed- "water".

[2] It is possible that the Wear has the same etymology as the River Wyre in Lancashire,[1] the Quair Water in Scotland, the Weser in Germany and the Vistula in Poland.

[1] The Wear rises in the east Pennines, high on the moors of the Alston Block, an upland area raised up during the Caledonian orogeny.

The Devonian age Weardale Granite underlies the headwaters of the Wear and the whole Alston Block, but does not appear at outcrop[n 1] but was surmised by early geologists, and subsequently proven to exist as seen in the Rookhope borehole.

At Chester-le-Street, when glacial boulder clay was deposited blocking its northerly course, the River Wear was diverted eastwards towards Sunderland where it was forced to cut a new, shallower valley.

In the 17th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1990), reference is made to a pre-Ice Age course of the River Wear outfalling at Hartlepool.

The glaciation left behind many indications of its presence, including lateral moraines and material from the Lake District and Northumberland, although surprisingly few drumlins.

Its upper end runs through lead mining country, until this gives way to coal seams of the Durham coalfield for the rest of its length.

However, abandoned mines and their spoil heaps continue to contribute to heavy metal mineral pollution of the river and its tributaries.

This has significance to fishing in times of low flow and infrastructure costs as the River Wear is an important source of drinking water for many of the inhabitants along its course.

gained planning permission to form a visitor complex showcasing an eco-village using alternative technology, including a "hot rocks" water heating system.

Rising in the east Pennines, its head waters consist of several streams draining from the hills between Killhope Law and Burnhope Seat.

The Wear is a spate river and has been heavily influenced by previous government funded drainage schemes (gripping) with a view to improving marginal agricultural land.

The river flows eastwards through Weardale, one of the larger valleys of west County Durham, subsequently turning south-east, and then north-east, meandering its way through the Wear Valley still in County Durham to the North Sea where it outfalls at Wearmouth in the main locality of Monkwearmouth on Wearside in the City of Sunderland.

When it reaches the city of Durham the River Wear passes through a deep, wooded gorge, from which several springs emerge, historically used as sources of potable water.

In June each year, the Durham Regatta, which predates that at Henley, attracts rowing crews from around the region for races along the river's course through the city.

[6] Between Durham City and Chester-le-Street, 6 miles (10 km) due north, the River Wear changes direction repeatedly, flowing south westwards several miles downstream having passed the medieval site of Finchale Priory, a former chapel and later a satellite monastery depending on the abbey church of Durham Cathedral.

As it passes Chester-le-Street, where the river is overlooked by Lumley Castle, its flood plain has been developed into The Riverside, the home pitch of Durham County Cricket Club.

On exiting the Lambton estate the river leaves County Durham and enters the City of Sunderland, specifically the southern/south-eastern edge of the new town of Washington.

's Stadium of Light and others belonging to the University of Sunderland (St. Peter's Campus; Scotia Quay residences) and to the National Glass Centre.

[8] The St Peter's Riverside Sculpture Project was created by Colin Wilbourn, with crime novelist and ex-poet Chaz Brenchley.

An engraving of a painting by William Andrews Nesfield showing a fisherman in the river was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838, along with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.