This page discusses the rivers and hydrography of the state of Tasmania, Australia.
In the geography of Tasmania, the state is covered with a network of rivers and lake systems. As an island, all rivers eventually empty into the waters that surround Tasmania. There are four main river systems:[1]
- In the south, the Derwent flows from the Central Highlands past Hobart, to the sea at Storm Bay;
- In the west, the Gordon River takes the waters of Lake Gordon and Lake Pedder and is joined by the Franklin River before flowing into Macquarie Harbour;
- Flowing eastwards and to the south, the Huon River has its headwaters at Scotts Peak Dam on Lake Pedder, and reaches the sea in D'Entrecasteaux Channel; and
- Flowing from the north-east, the South Esk, the state's longest river, joins the North Esk at Launceston to create the Tamar.
Compared to the rest of Australia,[2] Tasmania has a very high proportion of wild or undisturbed rivers.[3][4]
Catchment areas
editMajor catchments of Tasmania are linked to the major rivers, the most notable being the Derwent. Catchments by region are:
South west region
editWest coast region
editMajor rivers
editThe following rivers are the longest river systems, by length.[1]
Order | River name | Length | Region(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
km | mi | |||
1 | South Esk | 252 | 157 | Midlands |
2 | Derwent | 215 | 134 | Central Highlands |
3 | Arthur | 189 | 117 | West Coast |
4 | Gordon | 186 | 116 | Central Highlands; South-west; Western |
5 | Huon | 169 | 105 | South-west |
6 | Mersey | 158 | 98 | North-west |
7 | Franklin | 129 | 80 | Central Highlands; West Coast |
8 | Leven | 99 | 62 | North-west |
9 | North Esk | 97 | 60 | Northern |
10 | Pieman | 38 | 24 | West Coast |
River topography
editRivers that flow towards the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean
edit
D'Entrecasteaux (Derwent) sub-catchmentedit |
D'Entrecasteaux (Huon) sub-catchmentedit |
Rivers with no defined sub-catchmentedit
|
Rivers that flow towards the Southern Ocean
edit
Gordon–Franklin sub-catchmentedit |
Pieman River sub-catchmentedit |
Davey River sub-catchmenteditHenty River sub-catchmenteditKing River sub-catchmenteditOld River sub-catchmenteditWanderer River sub-catchmentedit |
Rivers with no defined sub-catchmentedit
|
Rivers that flow north, towards Bass Strait
edit
Esk–Tamar catchmentedit |
Arthur River sub-catchmenteditInglis River sub-catchmentedit
|
Forth River sub-catchmenteditMersey River sub-catchmenteditCam River sub-catchmentedit
|
Rivers with no defined sub-catchmentedit
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "1384.6 - Statistics - Tasmania, 2008". Bureau of Statistics. Australian Government. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ "Identified Natural Rivers - National" (Map). Australia's Natural Lands and Rivers. Department of the Environment, Australian Government. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ "Identified Natural Rivers - Tasmania" (Map). Australia's Natural Lands and Rivers. Department of the Environment, Australian Government. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ "Undisturbed rivers - Tasmania" (Map). Australian Heritage Commission. Department of the Environment, Australian Government; Department of Primary Industries, Water and Energy and Forest Tasmania, Tasmanian Government. Retrieved 18 June 2016.