Snowy River

river in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia

The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It starts on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mountain. It gets its water from the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, and then flows through the Snowy River National Park in Victoria and finally into Bass Strait. Up until the middle of the 20th century, the river was known for the large amount of fresh water it carried, its wide reach and large rapids.

Snowy
The Snowy River below McKillops Bridge
Snowy River is located in Australia
Snowy River
Location of the mouth of the river in Australia
EtymologyNamed by John Lhotsky in 1834[1][2]
Nickname(s)The Snowy
Location
CountryAustralia
StatesNew South Wales, Victoria
RegionSouth-east Australia
TownsJindabyne (NSW), Orbost (Vic), Marlo (Vic)
Physical characteristics
SourceAustralian Alps, Great Dividing Range
 - locationbelow Mount Stilwell, New South Wales
 - elevation2,200 m (7,200 ft)
MouthBass Strait
 - locationMarlo, Victoria
 - coordinates37°47′S 148°31′E / 37.783°S 148.517°E / -37.783; 148.517
 - elevation0 m (0 ft)
Length352 km (219 mi)[source?]
Basin size15,779 km2 (6,092 sq mi)4%
Discharge 
 - locationmouth
 - average75 m3/s (2,600 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 - leftMoonbah River, Maclaughlin River, Jacobs River, Deddick River, Rodger River
 - rightDelegate River, Wullwye Creek, Pinch River, Suggan Buggan River, Buchan River, Brodribb River
WaterfallsStone Bridge, Corrowong, Snowy, and Pinch
National parksKosciuszko NP,
Alpine NP,
Snowy River NP
[3]

The river's course and surroundings have not changed very much, as it is protected by the Snowy River National Park. However, its flow of water was almost stopped in the 1950's by the building of the Snowy Mountains Scheme to make hydroelectricity. Four large dams were built, at Guthega, Island Bend, Eucumbene, and Jindabyne, as well as many smaller dams and tunnels. Less than 1% of the river flow, as measured at Jindabyne, New South Wales, continued to flow down the river. Concern over the health of river led to an agreement between the state and federal governments to increase the amount of water released back into the river. From 2002 to 2008 the flow was increased from 1% to 4%. The agreement planned to increase the flow to 15% by 2009 and 21% by 2012.[4]

References

change
  1. Feeken, Erwin H. J.; Feeken, Gerda E. E. (1970), The discovery and exploration of Australia, Melbourne: Nelson, p. 318, ISBN 0-17-001812-1, cited in Bird (2006)
  2. Bird, Eric (12 October 2006). "Place Names on the Coast of Victoria" (PDF). The Australian National Placename Survey (ANPS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011.
  3. "Map of Snowy River". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  4. "The Snowy River - an historic agreement". Water in the Environment. Victorian Government. Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-06.