Snowy River

Snowy
River
The Snowy River below McKillops Bridge
Name origin: Named by Dr John Lhotsky in 1834
Nickname: "The Snowy"
Country	Australia
States	New South Wales, Victoria
Region	South-east Australia
Tributaries
- left	Mowamba River, Maclaughlin River, Jacobs River, Deddick River, Rodger River
- right	Delegate River, Wullwye Creek, Pinch River, Suggan Buggan River, Buchan River, Brodribb River
Towns	Jindabyne (NSW), Orbost (Vic), Marlo (Vic)
Source	Australian Alps, Great Dividing Range
- location	below Mount Stilwell, New South Wales
- elevation	2,200 m (7,218 ft)
Mouth	Bass Strait
- location	Marlo, Victoria
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates	37°47′S 148°31′E / 37.783°S 148.517°E / -37.783; 148.517Coordinates: 37°47′S 148°31′E / 37.783°S 148.517°E / -37.783; 148.517
Length	352 km (218.7 mi)
Basin	15,779 km2 (6,092.3 sq mi) 4%
Discharge	mouth
- average	75 m3/s (2,650 cu ft/s)
National parks	Kosciuszko NP, Alpine NP, Snowy River NP
Reservoirs	Guthega Pondage, Island Bend Pondage, Lake Eucumbene, Lake Jindabyne
Waterfalls	Stone Bridge, Corrowong, Snowy, and Pinch
Location of the mouth of the river in Australia

The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the Alpine National Park and the Snowy River National Park in Victoria and emptying into Bass Strait.

While the river’s course and surroundings have remained almost entirely unchanged, the majority of it being protected by the Snowy River National Park, its flow was drastically reduced in the mid 20th century, to less than 1% (as measured at Jindabyne), after the construction of four large dams (Guthega, Island Bend, Eucumbene, and Jindabyne) and many smaller diversion structures in its headwaters in New South Wales, as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

The river has been immortalised in cultural folklore through the poem The Man from Snowy River, written by 'Banjo' Paterson in 1890, which formed the basis of many subsequent works in film, TV and music theatre.

The main headwaters of the Snowy River, which include the Eucumbene, Gungarlin and Thredbo Rivers and many smaller alpine watercourses, are predominantly located in Kosciuszko National Park and meet near Jindabyne. From this point the river winds 352 kilometres (219 mi) southwards through inaccessible country, comprising private lands and the Snowy River National Park, eventually reaching the sea in the Snowy Inlet, at Marlo, near Orbost, Victoria.