Why does the Thames not have rapids?

The Thames does not have rapids because the river has a very gentle gradient. The source of the Thames is at Thames Head in the Cotswold Hills, and the river flows for 346 km (215 miles) to the North Sea. The average gradient of the river is only 0.1%, which means that the river drops by only 1 metre for every 1000 metres of its length. This gentle gradient means that the river does not have the power to create rapids.