Tamar River

This article is about the river in Tasmania Australia. For the river in England, see River Tamar.
Tamar River (kanamaluka)
Estuary
The Tamar from Brady's lookout, near Exeter
Name origin: River Tamar
Country Australia
Regions Tasmania, Northern Tasmania
Tributaries
 - left Supply River
City Launceston
Source confluence South and North Esk Rivers
 - location Launceston
 - coordinates 41°26′4″S 147°7′38″E / 41.43444°S 147.12722°E / -41.43444; 147.12722
Mouth Port Dalrymple, Bass Strait
 - location Low Head
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
 - coordinates 41°3′19″S 146°46′28″E / 41.05528°S 146.77444°E / -41.05528; 146.77444Coordinates: 41°3′19″S 146°46′28″E / 41.05528°S 146.77444°E / -41.05528; 146.77444
Length 70 km (43 mi)
State reserve Tamar River Conservation Area
Location of the Tamar River mouth
in Tasmania
Wikimedia Commons: Tamar River
[1]

The Tamar River (Indigenous palawa kani name: kanamaluka) is a 70-kilometre (43-mile) estuary located in northern Tasmania, Australia. Despite being called a river, the waterway is actually a saline and tidal estuary over its entire length.

Location and features

Formed by the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers at Launceston, the Tamar flows generally north towards its mouth at Low Head, north of the settlement George Town[2] and into the Bass Strait via Port Dalrymple. The Tamar has several minor tributaries including the Supply River.[1]

Low Head Lighthouse is located at the tip of a peninsula, on the east side of the mouth of the Tamar River. The only full crossing of the Tamar is the Batman Bridge in the relatively remote area of Sidmouth, around halfway up the river.

Although the Port of Launceston is now used very little in comparison to the past[3] and the SeaCat Tasmania ferry no longer docks at George Town,[4] the Tamar still is used for shipping, with light and heavy industries at George Town including aluminium smelters as well as commercial boat cruises.[5]

Etymology

The Tamar River was named after the River Tamar in South West England by Colonel William Paterson in December 1804.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Map of Tamar River, TAS". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "George Town Council". georgetown.tas.gov.au.
  3. ↑ "The Development of the Port of Launceston". Launceston Historical Society.
  4. ↑ "Bass Strait Passenger Ships and Passenger/Vehicle Ferries". users.nex.net.au/~reidgck.
  5. ↑ "Tamar River Cruises". tamarrivercruises.com.au.
  6. ↑ Bladen, F. M. (Frank Murcott), ed. (1897). Historical records of New South Wales, Volume 5—King, 1803-1805. Sydney: Charles Potter, Government Printer. p. 497.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.