The Jordan River, a
perennial river
A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abs ...
of the
West Gippsland
West Gippsland, a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia, extends from the southeastern limits of metropolitan Melbourne and Western Port Bay in the west to the Latrobe Valley in the east, and is bounded by the Strzelecki Ranges to the south ...
catchment, is located in the
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
region of the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
Location and features
The Jordan River rises near The Springs, south of
Woods Point
Woods Point is a small town in Victoria, Australia and is located on the banks of the Goulburn River. At the , Woods Point and the surrounding area had a population of 37, down from 94 in 2006.
History
The town began as a general store built b ...
, part of the
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
. The headwaters drain a marginal area of the Big River State Forest near Jordan Gap, Jordan Cutting and McAdam Gap.
[ The river flows generally south by east, much of its course through the Thomson State Forest, before reaching its ]confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
with the Thomson River within the northern reaches of the Thomson Reservoir. The river descends over its course.[
The Victorian Department of Primary Industries describes the river as:]
European history
The Jordan Valley was intensively mined for gold during the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries.[J.G. Rogers, ''Jericho on the Jordan: a Gippsland Goldfield History'', Moe, 1998, p. 120; J. and J. McDonald, ''Three William McDonalds'', Canberra, 2010, pp. 154-156.]
Several sites from this era, including the Jordan River Diversion Tunnel, are listed in the Victorian Heritage Inventory The Victorian Heritage Inventory, commonly known as the Heritage Inventory, is a list of all known historical archaeology sites in Victoria, Australia. It is maintained by Heritage Victoria
, the Victorian State Government’s principal cultural ( ...
.Australian Alps Walking Track
The Australian Alps Walking Track is a long-distance walking trail through the alpine areas of Victoria, New South Wales and ACT. It is 655 km long, starting at Walhalla, Victoria and running through to Tharwa, ACT near Canberra. The trac ...
follows the Jordan River for part of its length.
Etymology
The Jordan River was named after the biblical River Jordan
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
(Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: meaning "descending") by Owen Little in 1861 because access was "a hard road to travel".[, cited at Vicnames (2011)] Christie mentions a report in the ''Gippsland Times
The ''Gippsland Times'' is a newspaper published in Sale, Victoria, Australia since 1861. It is now part of Fairfax Media's group of regional newspapers.
Its full title is ''The Gippsland Times and Maffra Spectator'', reflecting a takeover of th ...
'' that miners thought the tree ferns further down the river reminded them of palm trees in bible illustrations, hence also the Jericho goldfield, as Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...
was "the city of palm trees" ( Joshua 34:3).[
]
See also
* Rivers of Victoria
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Rivers of Victoria (Australia)
West Gippsland catchment
Rivers of Gippsland (region)
Victorian Alps