Murchison | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Australia |
State | Tasmania |
Region | West Coast |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | West Coast Range |
• location | below Pyramid Mountain |
• coordinates | 41°59′19″S145°54′56″E / 41.98861°S 145.91556°E |
• elevation | 773 m (2,536 ft) |
Mouth | Pieman River |
• location | below Tullah |
• coordinates | 41°44′00″S145°36′38″E / 41.73333°S 145.61056°E Coordinates: 41°44′00″S145°36′38″E / 41.73333°S 145.61056°E |
• elevation | 160 m (520 ft) |
Length | 64 km (40 mi) |
Basin features | |
River system | Pieman River catchment |
Tributaries | |
• left | Anthony River |
• right | Wallace River (Tasmania), Achilles River, Bluff River (Murchison River) |
Reservoirs | Lake Murchison, Lake Rosebery |
[1] |
The Murchison River, part of the Pieman River catchment, is a major perennial river located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Murchison River rises below Pyramid Mountain, part of the north eastern section of the West Coast Range within the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. The river flows generally northwest, joined by six tributaries including the Wallace, Achilles, Bluff, and Anthony rivers and flowing through the impoundment, Lake Murchison. [2] The river reaches its confluence with the Mackintosh River to form the Pieman River near Tullah in what is now Lake Rosebery, formed by the impounding of the Pieman by the Bastyan Dam.
The river catchment easternmost point can be located at Mount Pelion West, while the junction point in the river catchments of the Mackintosh River and the Murchison can be located at Barn Bluff. The catchment is bordered to the south by the Eldon Range, and its south western area is in the West Coast Range, with the Tyndall Range and Lake Rolleston on its south west border.
The Murchison River forms part of the Pieman River Power Development scheme. The Murchison Dam across the Murchison River was constructed in the 1980s by Hydro Tasmania. [3] [4] The dame forms the narrow Lake Murchison that lies east of Mount Murchison. Water from the dam is fed through the Sophia Tunnel into Lake Mackintosh for hydroelectric power generation.
The Pieman River is a major perennial river located in the west coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
Lake Margaret is a concrete-faced gravity dam with an uncontrolled spillway across the Yolande River, located on the north side of Mount Sedgwick, in the West Coast Range, West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.
The Murchison Highway is a highway located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The 147-kilometre (91 mi) highway runs generally north–south, with Somerset, near Burnie, as its northern terminus and Zeehan as its southern terminus. The highway was opened on 13 December 1963. Part of the highway from Waratah to Burnie was known as the Waratah Highway until 1973.
The Crotty Dam, also known during construction as the King Dam, or the King River Dam on initial approval, is a rockfill embankment dam with a controlled and uncontrolled spillway across the King River, between Mount Jukes and Mount Huxley, located in Western Tasmania, Australia.
The Mackintosh Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in Western Tasmania, Australia.
The Reece Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
Mount Tyndall is a mountain that is part of the Tyndall Range, a spur off the West Coast Range, located in the Western region of Tasmania, Australia.
Mount Geikie is a mountain in the West Coast Range of Western Tasmania, Australia.
Tullah is a town in the northern part of the West Coast Range, on the west coast of Tasmania, about 111 km south of Burnie. The town has a population of approximately 160 people.
The Mackintosh River, part of the Pieman River catchment, is a major perennial river located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The river was named in November 1828 by Henry Hellyer, a surveyor of the Van Diemans Land Company, in honour of Sir James Mackintosh, son of John Mackintosh of Kyllachy, Inverness-shire
Lake Rosebery is a man-made water reservoir located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The lake is situated within the northern part of Tasmania's West Coast Range and is fed by the dammed Mackintosh and Murchison rivers.
Lake Mackintosh is a 17.5-kilometre-long (10.9 mi) reservoir with a surface area of 3,100-hectare (7,700-acre) that forms part of the Pieman power development running north–south past Mount Farrell, adjacent to the town of Tullah in Tasmania.
The Sophia River, part of the Pieman River catchment, is a perennial river located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Scotts Peak Dam is a rockfill embankment dam without a spillway across the Huon River, located in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Serpentine Dam is a rockfill embankment dam with a concrete face and a controlled spillway across the Serpentine River, located in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Anthony Power Development Scheme, part of the Pieman River power development scheme, was a proposed scheme for damming parts of the upper catchment of the Pieman River in Western Tasmania, Australia.
The Anthony River, part of the Pieman River catchment, is a perennial river in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
Lake Murchison is a man-made water reservoir located in the western region of Tasmania, Australia. The lake is situated within the northern part of Tasmania's West Coast Range and is fed by the Murchison River, the George Creek, the Anthony River, and discharge from the Tribute Power Station.
Pieman River Power Development was a major 1970s and 1980s hydroelectric development of the Pieman River and its tributaries on the west coast of Tasmania.