King River, Tasmania
| King | |
| River | |
 King River near Mount Huxley in the 1970s prior to damming. Frenchmans Cap is located in upper right corner of the photo.
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| Name origin: King of Australia | |
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| State | Tasmania |
| Region | West Coast |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Governor River, Nelson River (Tasmania), Princess River |
| - right | Tofft River, Queen River, Tasmania |
| Source | Thureau Hills, West Coast Range |
| Source confluence | Eldon and South Eldon rivers |
| - location | near Eldon Range |
| - elevation | 243 m (797 ft) |
| - coordinates | 42°0′46″S 145°41′35″E / 42.01278°S 145.69306°E |
| Mouth | Lettes Bay, Macquarie Harbour |
| - location | near Strahan |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| - coordinates | 42°11′35″S 145°21′13″E / 42.19306°S 145.35361°ECoordinates: 42°11′35″S 145°21′13″E / 42.19306°S 145.35361°E |
| Length | 52 km (32 mi) |
| Reservoir | Lake Burbury |
| Dam | Crotty Dam |
| Nature reserves | Crotty Conservation Area; West Coast Range Regional Reserve, Teepookana Forest Reserve |
The King River is a major perennial river in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
Formed by the confluence of the Eldon and South Eldon rivers, the King River rises near Eldon Range on the slopes of the West Coast Range between Mount Huxley and Mount Jukes. The river flows generally south and then west, joined by nine tributaries including the Tofft, Governor, Nelson, Princess, and Queen rivers before emptying into Macquarie Harbour near Strahan, and merging with the Southern Ocean. The river descends 24 metres (79 ft) over its 52-kilometre (32 mi) course.
The upper section of the river lies in a glaciated valley, with glacier scouring scars high up on the upper parts of the mountains of the West Coast Range. Also small glacial lakes occur on and north of Mount Sedgwick. Lake Beatrice for instance lies on the eastern slope of Mount Sedgwick. The upper portion of the King River valley was first surveyed for damming in 1917 by the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company.
The river is impounded by the Crotty Dam to form Lake Burbury, covering 54 square kilometres (21 sq mi) over the former valley and named after the first Australian born Governor of Tasmania, Stanley Burbury. Water drawn from the lake is used to supply the conventional hydroelectric John Butters Power Station, operated by Hydro Tasmania. Below the dam wall, the river flows through a narrow channel as it flows west towards Teepookana, in the last 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of the river, where extensive silting from the mine tailings that have been carried down from Queenstown, has created such a resource that at least one mining company has in the past proposed the mining of the deposits at the edge of the river, as well as the delta formed out into Macquarie Harbour due to the amount of economically viable materials in the silt.
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Wikipedia