River Derwent (Tasmania)
Bridgewater Bridge. In the background of Mount Wellington
Derwent River south of the Bridgewater Bridge
Derwent River and Austins Ferry from Poimenna reserve from
The Derwent River is a river in the southeast of the Australian state of Tasmania.
Geography
River
The river arises in the Lake St. Clair from the Cuvier River and the Narcissus River. From the subsequent St. Clair Lagoon it flows south, crosses under at Derwent Bridge the Lyell Highway, where it holds the Travellers Rest River and enters the Lake King William. This reservoir is leaving the Derwent River at the south end and resumes its course continues to the southeast in many meanders and by a number of smaller reservoirs. At New Norfolk, he turns to the east- northeast and widens the estuary.
From there he sets - already at sea level - from 52 km to the sea back. In Bridgewater, where the Midland Highway crosses the already 2 km wide river, he turns his back running southeast, flows through the Tasmanian capital of Hobart and finally ends at South Arm in Storm Bay, an inlet of the Tasman Sea.
The average discharge of the Derwent River fluctuates between 50 and 140 m³ / s In mid-year it is 90 m³ / s
Tributaries with muzzle heights
- Cuvier River - 738 m
- Narcissus River - 738 m
- Travellers Rest River - 730 m
- Navarre River - 715 m
- Tarraleah No. Canal. 2-715 m
- Counsel River - 403 m
- Beech Creek - 381 m
- Nive River - 229 m
- Robinson Creek - 209 m
- Florentine River - 187 m
- Jungle Creek - 187 m
- Black Bobs Rivulet - 187 m
- Repulse River - 150 m
- Broad River - 102 m
- Dee River - 89 m
- Ouse River - 79 m
- Jones River - 79 m
- Clyde River - 79 m
- Longbottom Creek - 65 m
- Tyenna River - 40 m
- Allenvale Rivulet - 30 m
- Belmont Rivulet - 28 m
- Styx River - 23 m
- Park Creek - 23 m
- Plenty River - 17 m
- Glenfern Creek - 13 m
- Back River - 9 m
- Lachlan River - 2 m
- Sorell Creek - 0 m
- Jordan River - 0 m
- New Town Rivulet - 0 m
Flushed lakes and reservoirs
- Lake St. Clair - 738 m
- St. Clair Lagoon - 738 m
- Lake King William - 715 m
- Wayatinah Lagoon - 230 m
- Catagunya Lake - 187 m
- Lake Repulse - 150 m
- Cluny Lagoon - 102 m
- Meadowbank Lake - 79 m
Bridges
At the first bridge over the river Derwent Bridge this usually is so narrow that you can jump over it. In Wayatinah, on Lake Repulse, at the top Meadowbank Lake and Bushy Park also smaller bridges crossing the Derwent River. The first long bridge connects the two banks in New Norfolk, just before the estuary begins.
The Midland Highway ( A1) crosses the river between Bridgewater and Granton on the dual Bridgewater Bridge. In Glenorchy, Hobart shortly before, the four-lane Bowen Bridge spans the river. Until 1964 there was near downtown Hobart Hobart the Bridge, a concrete pontoon bridge. It was replaced by the current, five-lane Tasman Bridge, north of the harbor and runs directly to the city center of the Tasmanian capital sparsely populated with, connects eastern parts of the city.
Port
In the large estuary of the Derwent River is the port of Hobart. He is said to be the deepest natural harbor in the southern hemisphere. In the past, some well-known ships anchored there, eg the HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin on board in February 1836, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the battleship USS Missouri. The largest ship ever sailed up the Derwent River, was the Diamond Princess, a 61 m high cruise ship, which has a displacement of 113,000 gross tons and was launched in January 2006, Hobart. In the area of the port of the Derwent River almost 3 km wide and thus the widest river in Tasmania.
Ecology
The upper reaches of the Derwent River suffers from bodies in the water of nutrients from agriculture and forestry. In contrast, the lower course has to deal with extremely high heavy metal values. Launched by the Derwent Estuary Program State Government points out that especially the proportions of mercury, lead, zinc and cadmium exceed the national limit. In the river -caught fish and shellfish in particular, should not be eaten. The majority of these heavy metals comes from major industrial establishments which dismissed their waste water into the river, an electrolytic tin melt in Lutana, which was founded in 1917, and a paper mill in Boyer, which is operated since 1941.
History
The valley of the Derwent River was inhabited for at least 8,000 years before European colonization of the Aboriginesstamm Mouheneener. Many Køkkenmøddinger along the river lay still witness to the fact.
It received its name in 1793 by John Hayes according to one of the English rivers with the same name (see Derwent ), which means as much as " with stock of oak valley ". In its discovery by Europeans, the underflow was overgrown with thick Kasuarinenwäldern (English She- Oaks ), but of which only survived a few remainders.
Up to the 1840s there was a thriving whaling industry, but was then removed by overfishing the base.
Prior to the construction of several dam projects 1934-1968 were frequent flooding of the Derwent River. Today, Tasmania gets most of its energy from hydropower.