Gwydir River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gwydir River | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Origin | Northern Tablelands |
| Mouth | confluence with the Barwon River |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Basin area | 26,588 km² [1] |
The Gwydir River is a large inland river in the northern part of the Australian state of New South Wales which is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. The river has two main tributaries—the Horton River and the Rocky River. 'Gwydir' is pronounced to rhyme with 'wider', and not as the Welsh might pronounce it.
The Copeton Dam on the Gwydir River stores water for towns, stock, domestic use and irrigation. The Gwydir River below Copeton dam, provides some of the wildest whitewater rafting available in Australia. Before the construction of Copeton Dam and much diversionary work, the Gwydir River flowed into the Gingham and Lower Gwydir Wetlands. The Gwydir Highway was named after the river.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
The river rises on the southern part of the Northern Tablelands near the town of Uralla, and flows about 668km (415 miles) generally north west and then west onto the plains where it eventually joins the Barwon River. It passes the towns of Bundarra, Bingara, Gravesend, Pallamallawa and Moree. Moree itself is situated on the Mehi River - a branch of the Gwydir River that divides from the main Gwydir River upstream of Moree.
The Gwydir River splits into two anabranches west of Moree - the "Big Leather Watercourse" is the southern channel and the "Gingham Channel" is the northern branch. The Gingham Channel flows west, joining the Ballone Creek before it flows into the Big Leather Watercourse. The Big Leather watercourse then joins the Mehi River to the south. The Mehi River joins the Barwon River near the township of Collarenebri.
[edit] History
Explorer Allan Cunningham crossed the river at Gravesend in 1827 and named it after his patron, Lord Gwydir, who took his title from Gwydir Castle in Wales. The Commonwealth Electoral Division of Gwydir, which was created in 1901 and will cease to exist at the 2007 federal election, is named for the Gwydir River. In Australia the name is pronounced to rhyme with "wider," whereas the Welsh name is pronounced roughly "Gwidd-eer."
The iron lattice bridges crossing the Gwydir River at Bundarra and Bingara are regarded as significant bridges of the colonial period.[2]
[edit] Agriculture
A lot of irrigated cotton is grown near Moree, as well as many other crops, livestock and agricultural enterprises. The cotton industry relies on irrigation and has been affected by recent drought with water allocations to farms severely reduced. In 2006 it was calculated that the cotton industry consumed 87% of the agricultural water taken from the Gwydir River.[3]
[edit] Fauna
The Namoi River Snapping Turtle or Bell's turtle (Elseya belli) is a species of turtle found only in the upper reaches of the Namoi River, Gwydir River and Macdonald Rivers on the North West Slopes, Australia.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Landscape - carbon, nutrients, water and productivity - Gwydir River". Australian Natural Resource Atlas. http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/carbon/nsw/basin-gwydir-river.html. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ Gwydir River Bridge at Bingara
- ^ Marian Wilkinson (2008-08-16). "Cotton sucking life out of Murray". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. http://www.smh.com.au/news/water-issues/cotton-sucking-life-out-of-murray/2008/08/15/1218307227802.html. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ Threatened Species of the New England Tablelands & NW Slopes of NSW, NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, 2003, ISBN 0 7313 6673 5
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
[edit] External links
