Derwent River
Tasman Bridge at the mouth of the Derwent River
Mouth	Storm Bay
Basin countries	Australia
Basin area	9,832 km2 [1]

The Derwent is a river in Tasmania, Australia. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. It was named after the River Derwent, Cumbria by British Commodore John Hayes who explored it in 1794. For other rivers called Derwent see River Derwent. The Derwent is a River in the Lake District of the County Sir John Hayes (1768 - 1831 was an eighteenth century explorer for the British East India Company. The name is Brythonic Celtic for "valley thick with oaks"^[2][3][4]. The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being

The river is the subject of the multimedia performance "Falling Mountain" (2005 Mountain Festival), a reference to the mountain in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park from which the river rises. Location Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair is a national park in the Central Highlands areaof Tasmania ( Australia) 165 km northwest of

History

The River Derwent was inhabited by the Mouheneener people ^[5] for at least 8000 years before British settlement. Evidence of their occupation may be found in many middens along the banks of the river. The Mouheneener people's name for the river is Teem. toomele men. en. nye.

When first explored by Europeans, the lower parts of the picturesque valley were clad in thick she-oak forests, remnants of which remain in various parts of the lower foreshore. Casuarinaceae is a family of dicotyledonous Flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of 3 or 4 genera and approximately 70 A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria ^[6]

Geography

The river originates at Lake St Clair and flows south over a distance of 187 km to New Norfolk and the estuary portion extends a further 52 km out to sea. Lake St Clair is a Lake in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania, Australia. New Norfolk is a town on the Derwent River, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. Flows average in range from 50 to 140 cubic metres per second. Mean annual flow is 90 cubic metres per second. ^[6]

The Derwent River

The large estuary forms the Port of the City of Hobart – often claimed to be the deepest sheltered harbour in the Southern Hemisphere; some past guests of the port include the Beagle, carrying Charles Darwin, in February, 1836, the USS Enterprise and USS Missouri. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences) or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the Weather or are stored Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' Design Enterprise was intended to be the first of a class of six but construction costs ballooned and the remaining vessels were never laid down resulting in her Construction See also Iowa class battleship, Armament of the Iowa class battleship Missouri was one of the ''Iowa''-class " The largest vessel to ever travel the Derwent is the 113,000 tonne, 61 metre high, ocean liner 'Diamond Princess', which made its first visit in January 2006. At points in its lower reaches the river is nearly three kilometres wide, and as such is the widest river in Tasmania. This is a great contrast to the upper reaches of the Derwent, near the town of Derwent Bridge, where, in summer, the river often slows to a trickle and can be easily crossed with one step. Derwent Bridge Tasmania is a locality on the Lyell Highway at the southern edge of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

Little Pied Cormorants on the Derwent River

Until the construction of several hydroelectric dams between 1934 and 1968, it was prone to frequent flooding. The Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka ( Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) is a common Australasian waterbird found around the coasts Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by Hydropower, ie the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Seven lakes have been formed by damming the Derwent and Nive tributary for hydroelectric purposes: Lakes Meadowbank, Cluny, Repulse, Catagunya, Wayatinah, Liapootah and King William. Further other dams and diversions add to this complex scheme. A substantial part of the dam construction work was performed by Polish and British migrants after World War II. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The State of Tasmania is now attempting to diversify its over reliance on power from hydroelectricity, specially considering the low storage capacity of the overall Hydro system. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass ^[7]

Bridges

Several bridges connect the western shore (the more heavily populated side of the river) to the eastern shore of Hobart – in the greater Hobart area, these include the five lane Tasman Bridge, near the CBD, just north of the port; the four lane Bowen Bridge; and the two lane Bridgewater Bridge and Causeway. The Tasman Bridge is a five-lane Bridge crossing the Derwent River, near the CBD of Hobart, Tasmania. The Bowen Bridge is a four Lane Bridge crossing the Derwent River. The Bridgewater Bridge and Causeway spans the Derwent River in Tasmania, Australia between Bridgewater and Granton. Until 1964 the Derwent was crossed by the unique Hobart Bridge, a floating concrete structure just upstream from where the Tasman Bridge now stands. The Hobart Bridge was a Pontoon bridge that crossed the River Derwent, connecting the eastern and western Shores of the City of Hobart, Tasmania ^[8]

Sunrise over the Derwent River

There was a thriving whaling industry until the 1840s when the industry rapidly declined due to over-exploitation. ^[9]

Land use

The Upper Derwent is affected by agricultural run-off, particularly from land clearing and forestry. The Lower Derwent suffers from extremely high levels of heavy metal contamination in sediments. The State Government-backed Derwent Estuary Program points out in particular that levels of mercury, lead, zinc and cadmium exceed national guidelines. They also recommend against consuming shellfish and caution against consuming fish in general. ^[6] A large proportion of the heavy metal contamination comes from major industries that discharge into the river: an electrolytic zinc smelter at Lutana established in 1917, and a paper mill at Boyer which opened in 1941. Lutana is a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is part of the City of Glenorchy. Boyer is a town on the eastern side of the Derwent River (Tasmania, opposite and slightly downstream of New Norfolk. ^[6]

Derwent River (facing south), at the Bridgewater causeway.

See also

• Hobart Ferry Services

References

1. ^ Landscape: Carbon, nutrients, water and productivity - Derwent River. Hobart Ferry Services provide a major alternative Public transport service for commuters and tourists in the city's of Hobart and Clarence, located on the Australian Natural Resource Atlas. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following
2. ^ Etymology of Cumbrian Place Names#Rivers
3. ^ Names of Rivers
4. ^ Celtic Place Names
5. ^ Parliament of Tasmania - House of Assembly Standing Orders "We acknowledge the traditional people of the land upon which we meet today, the Mouheneener people. The county of Cumbria in the north west of England has a long and complex history of human settlement "
6. ^ ^{a b c d} State of the Derwent Estuary report (3.89 MB PDF)
7. ^ http://www.hydro.com.au/Storages/Storage.pdf
8. ^ Parliament of Tasmania History site - Hobart to Tasman Bridge
9. ^ A History of Shore-Based Whaling

• Derwent Estuary Program

External links

• Upper Derwent Issues

Coordinates: 43°03′S 147°22′E / -43.05, 147.367