Gordon River

Last updated

Gordon
Gordon river-hbm.jpg
A tour boat on the lower Gordon River
Relief Map of Tasmania.png
Red pog.svg
Location of the Gordon River mouth in Tasmania
Location
Country Australia
State Tasmania
Region Central Highlands, South-west, Western
Physical characteristics
Source King William Range
  location Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park
  coordinates 42°18′48″S146°12′56″E / 42.31333°S 146.21556°E / -42.31333; 146.21556
  elevation570 m (1,870 ft)
Mouth Southern Ocean
  location
Wrights Bay
  coordinates
42°25′57″S145°30′25″E / 42.43250°S 145.50694°E / -42.43250; 145.50694
  elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length172 km (107 mi)
Basin features
Tributaries 
  left Adams River, Serpentine River, Albert River, Orange River, Olga River, Sprent River, Franklin River
  rightGell River, Boyes River, Pokana River, Holley River, Smith River, Denison River, Spence River
Reservoir Lake Gordon
[1]

The Gordon River is a major perennial river located in the central highlands, south-west, and western regions of Tasmania, Australia.

Contents

Course and features

Reflections of the forest on the Gordon River. Gordon River.jpg
Reflections of the forest on the Gordon River.
The "weak tea" coloured water of the Gordon River. GordonRiver1.JPG
The "weak tea" coloured water of the Gordon River.

The Gordon River rises below Mount Hobhouse in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park draining the eastern slopes of the King William Range. The river flows generally south and to the west of the Gordon Range before flowing west through the Gordon Gap and spilling into Lake Gordon, an impounded reservoir created by damming the Gordon at the Gordon Dam. Together with water fed from Lake Pedder, the principal purpose of the reservoir is for generation of hydro-electricity at the Gordon Power Station.

Flowing from east to west through Lake Gordon, the river continues west, passing through the Gordon Splits, a series of gorges once considered impassable until 1958 when Olegas Truchanas, a conservationist and nature photographer, was the first person to navigate the Gordon River in a kayak. [2] The river flows north by west and then due north and finally due west as it reaches its mouth and empties into Macquarie Harbour at Wrights Bay.

From source to mouth, the river is joined by 25 tributaries including the Gell, Boyes, Pokana, Holley, Adams, Serpentine, Albert, Orange, Smith, Denison, Olga, Sprent, Franklin, and the Spence rivers.

The river descends 570 metres (1,870 ft) over its 172-kilometre (107 mi) course; [1] much of which is located in an uninhabited wilderness area, contained with the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park and Southwest National Park. The lower part of the Gordon River is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and contains a cold-climate rainforest and rare trees. As with many rivers in western Tasmania, the water is fresh and drinkable, yet has the colour of weak tea due to the absorption of tannin from button grass growing in the catchment area.

Additional dams were proposed for the lower part of the river. However, these plans were changed as a result of significant opposition and public opinion. In particular, the Franklin Dam was proposed just downstream of the junction with the Franklin River, and would have flooded much of both rivers. It was a major political and environmental issue in the 1980s. [3]

Boat excursions to the lower Gordon River from Macquarie Harbour are popular with tourists in Strahan. Seaplane flights depart Strahan during the warmer months and include an out landing on the Gordon River (usually a duration of one hour).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park</span> Protected area in Tasmania, Australia

Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers is a national park in Tasmania, 117 km west of Hobart. It is named after the two main river systems lying within the bounds of the park - the Franklin River and the Gordon River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin River</span> River in western Tasmania, Australia

The Franklin River is a major perennial river located in the Central Highlands and western regions of Tasmania, Australia. The river is located in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park at the mid northern area of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Its source is situated at the western edge of the Central Highlands and it flows west towards the West Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Pedder</span> Lake in South West Tasmania, Australia

Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the Serpentine and Huon rivers by the Hydro Electric Commission of Tasmania for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Dam controversy</span> Proposed dam in Tasmania, Australia

The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Gordon</span> Reservoir in Tasmania, Australia

Lake Gordon is a man-made reservoir created by the Gordon Dam, located on the upper reaches of the Gordon River in the south-west region of Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strahan, Tasmania</span> Town and port in Tasmania, Australia

Strahan, is a small town and former port on the west coast of Tasmania. It is now a significant locality for tourism in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macquarie Harbour</span> Large inlet on the West Coast of Tasmania

Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately 315 square kilometres (122 sq mi), and has an average depth of 15 metres (49 ft), with deeper places up to 50 metres (160 ft). It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by the presence of a rock wall on the outside of the channel's curve. This man-made wall prevents erosion and keeps the channel deep and narrow, rather than allowing the channel to become wide and shallow. A reported Aboriginal name for the harbour is Parralaongatek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King River (Tasmania)</span> River in Tasmania, Australia

The King River is a major perennial river in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Dombrovskis</span> Australian photographer

Peter Dombrovskis was an Australian photographer, known for his Tasmanian scenes. In 2003, he was posthumously inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame, the first Australian photographer to achieve that honour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydro Tasmania</span> Government hydro electricity provider in Tasmania, Australia

Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of the state. Today Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms.

Olegas Truchanas was a Lithuanian-Australian conservationist and nature photographer.

Lake Fidler is a meromictic lake beside the Gordon River in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site area of the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The lake has a layer of fresh water overlying an anoxic salt water layer. The meromictic lakes and ponds of the Gordon River were discovered by D. A. Hodgson and Professor Peter Tyler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast, Tasmania</span> Region in Tasmania, Australia

The West Coast of Tasmania is mainly isolated rough country, associated with wilderness, mining and tourism. It served as the location of an early convict settlement in the early history of Van Diemen's Land, and contrasts sharply with the more developed and populous northern and eastern parts of the island state.

The Tasmanian Wilderness Society was a Tasmanian environmental group that started in 1976 in response to a proposal by the state's Hydro Electric Commission to construct a dam on the Gordon River, downstream from the Franklin River, that led to the Franklin Dam controversy. The group evolved from membership of the South West Tasmania Action Committee and members of the United Tasmania Group. It was active in public protest about the issues of Wilderness, the Franklin River and South West Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Burbury</span> Lake in Tasmania, Australia

Lake Burbury is a man-made water reservoir created by the Crotty Dam inundating the upper King River valley that lies east of the West Coast Range. Discharge from the reservoir feeds the John Butters Hydroelectric Power Station, owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South West Tasmania</span> Region in Tasmania, Australia

South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evoked curiosity as to its resources over the duration of European presence on the island.

The Gordon Splits is a notable section of gorges of the Gordon River, located in South West Tasmania, Australia. The once impassable gorges are situated on the lower Gordon River in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The splits has also been an important location of focus within the larger environmental campaign for wilderness preservation in South West Tasmania.

This page discusses the rivers and hydrography of the state of Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birchs Inlet</span> Inlet of Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania

The Birchs Inlet, also spelt Birch's Inlet or Birches Inlet, is a narrow cove or coastal inlet on the south-western side of Macquarie Harbour on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The inlet is located within the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

The Prince of Wales Range is a mountain range in the South West Wilderness, Tasmania, Australia. It is situated north and parallel to the Denison River. It lies to the west of Lake Gordon, and southeast of Frenchmans Cap.

References

  1. 1 2 "Map of Gordon River, TAS". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  2. Angus, Max (1975). Laird, Norman (ed.). The World of Olegas Truchanas . Hobart: Olegas Truchanas Publication Committee. ISBN   0-9598212-0-1.
  3. Flanagan, Richard (1985). A terrible beauty: history of the Gordon River country. Richmond, Vic.: Greenhouse. ISBN   0-86436-001-0.

Further reading