Thomson River (Victoria)
| Thomson River | |
| River | |
 Bridge in 1910
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|
| Name origin: named by Angus McMillan in 1840 after Sir Edward Thomson,
Colonial Secretary at Sydney [1] |
|
| Nickname: The Thomson | |
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| State | Victoria |
| Region | Gippsland |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Matlock Creek, Jordan River, Aberfeldy River, Stringers Creek, Lammers Creek, Stoney Creek, Macalister River |
| Source | Newlands[disambiguation needed  ] |
| - location | Great Dividing Range, Victoria |
| - elevation | 950 m (3,117 ft) |
| Mouth | |
| - location | Latrobe River, near Sale, Victoria, Australia |
| - elevation | 1.5 m (5 ft) |
The Thomson River is a river in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It starts below Newlands at the north western end of the Baw Baw Plateau at an elevation of 972 m, where it shares a watershed with the Yarra River and Tanjil River, and ends at an elevation of 1.55 m merging with the Latrobe River near Sale. The Thomson River drops around 970 m over its 170 km length.[2] [3]
The Thomson Valley was intensively mined for gold during the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Prospector "Ned" Stringer discovered significant quantities of alluvial gold at the junction of what is now known as Stringers Creek. A short distance up that creek the gold mining township of Walhalla was established.
The river is dammed not far below its source by the Thomson River Dam, which provides around 70% of Melbourne's water storage and supplies about 30% of Melbourne's water needs. [4] This takes about 50% of the river's natural flow, which places a great environmental stress downstream. It particularly affects the Gippsland Lakes, which include Lake Wellington, Lake Victoria and Lake King. This area has international significance as a Ramsar listed wetland site.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Blake, Les (1977), Place names of Victoria, Adelaide: Rigby, p. 294, ISBN 0727002503
- ^ http://maps.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=215025&cmd=sp
- ^ [|West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority]; [|Department of Sustainability and Environment]; [|Melbourne Water Corporation]; [|Southern Rural Water] (September 2003), Thomson River Environmental Flow Requirements and Options to Manage Flow Stress, http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/28327/Thomson-River.pdf, retrieved 2011-02-08
- ^ Premier of Victoria (24 Oct 2010), Media Release - All Water Returned to the Yarra and Thomson Rivers, http://www.wgcma.vic.gov.au/the-news/media-releases/213-all-water-returned-to-the-yarra-and-thomson-rivers.html, retrieved 2011-02-08
- ^ Environment Victoria - Thomson River
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Coordinates: 37°41′35″S 146°13′16″E / 37.69306°S 146.22111°E
