Latrobe Valley

Latrobe Valley is a region in Gippsland in the east of the state of Victoria in Australia. The valley is located between the Strzelecki Mountains and the Great Dividing Range. Three major cities, and various small towns and country villages, is there. On the whole, the area of the Latrobe Valley with the Latrobe City local government area covers. The valley is the most densely populated part of the Gippsland. There, about 78,000 people live.

The Latrobe Valley is the center of the energy of Victoria, in particular the mining and burning of brown coal for generation of electric power. There a total of 85 % of the electrical energy produced Victoria and four of the largest power plants are there. Also, a significant part of Victoria's agricultural products is from this region. Both coal and agricultural products are important exports and in fact justified economy is the main reason for the rapid increase in population middle of the last century. But by these industries, the region produces more greenhouse gases than any other part of Victoria.

Traralgon is the most populous city in the region, while Morwell has become the administrative center due to its central location. Thus, there has long been a rivalry between the two cities.

The Latrobe Valley got its name from the Latrobe River, which flows through the valley to the east.

Geography

The Latrobe River flows east from Sale in Lake Wellington and drained a significant portion of the central Gippsland. The Latrobe Valley but covers a smaller part of the area as extending around the three cities of Moe, Morwell and Traralgon, Strzelecki Ranges between the south and the western foothills of the Australian Alps to the north. The valley is moderately fertile and has a humid climate.

Economy

Among the key sectors include energy production, paper making, wood mills, land and livestock, timber extraction, information technology, engineering and education. The valley provides 85 % of Victoria's electricity and has an important engineering for the power industry, the paper industry and the food industry. The University attracts students from the region, from all over Australia and around the world.

Logging is also a major industry in the hills in the north and in the south of the valley; the most important paper mill is in Maryvale, near Morwell. In the harsh north of the region, the historic gold mining town of Walhalla is situated with the mountains that form the western part of the Alpine National Park and the nearby Baw Baw National Park with a small ski area.

Climate

The Latrobe Valley has maritime climate, which means mild temperatures with large amounts of rainfall, with occasional frost and snow on the neighboring hills. The warmest month is February with an average temperature range of 12.5 to 26.4 ° C and the coldest month is July with an average temperature range from 3.6 to 13.5 ° C. Most of the rain falls in late winter and spring; the mean annual rainfall is 800 mm.

Settlements

There are three major cities in the Latrobe Valley:

• Traralgon - the most populous city
• Moe - the second most populous city
• Morwell - located in the center of the urban area, the administrative center and the seat is the most important newspaper, the Latrobe Valley Express

The main hospital is located on the Princes Highway between Morwell and Traralgon. It originated from the merger of three hospitals in the larger cities.

Small towns are Tyers, Newborough, Yinnar, Erica, Thorpdale, Yallourn North (the original Yallourn was moved because of the lignite quarrying ), Churchill ( seat of Gippsland Monash University) and Boolara.

The major cities have Rotary clubs, Morwell, Moe, Hazelwood (Churchill ), Traralgon and Traralgon Central.

Traffic

The Princes Freeway runs through the Latrobe Valley and Melbourne connects with the East Gippsland region.

The Traralgon V / Line ( railway line ) connects the three major cities.

Power plants

The power stations in the Latrobe Valley are the brown coal power plants Hazelwood, Loy Yang, Yallourn, the gas power plant Jeeralang and the Energy Brix (formerly Morwell ).