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:
- 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, Tasmania has a very high proportion of wild or undisturbed rivers.
Catchment areas
Major catchments of Tasmania are linked to the major rivers, the most notable being the Derwent. Catchments by region are:
South west region
West coast region
Major rivers
The following rivers are the longest river systems, by length.
| 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
Rivers that flow towards the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean
D'Entrecasteaux (Derwent) sub-catchment |
D'Entrecasteaux (Huon) sub-catchment |
Rivers with no defined sub-catchment
|
Rivers that flow towards the Southern Ocean
Gordon–Franklin sub-catchment |
Pieman River sub-catchment |
Davey River sub-catchmentHenty River sub-catchmentKing River sub-catchmentOld River sub-catchmentWanderer River sub-catchment |
Rivers with no defined sub-catchment
|
Rivers that flow north, towards Bass Strait
Esk–Tamar catchment |
Arthur River sub-catchmentInglis River sub-catchment
|
Forth River sub-catchmentMersey River sub-catchmentCam River sub-catchment
|
Rivers with no defined sub-catchment
|
See also
References
- ^ "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.
| Rivers of Australia | |
|---|---|
| States | |
| Mainland territories | |
| External territories | |