Kiewa 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 abse ...

that is part of the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

catchment within the Murray-Darling basin, 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 ...

bioregion A bioregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a biogeographic realm, but larger than an ecoregion or an ecosystem, in the World Wide Fund for Nature classification scheme. There is also an attempt to use the ...

, in the Australian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

. The Kiewa River is also known by several variations on its name in its upper reaches, variously named as Kiewa River East branch and West Kiewa River (or similar). The name ''Kiewa'' is an Aboriginal word, derived from ''cy-a-nun-a'', meaning sweet, and ''wher-ra'', meaning water.

Location and features

The river rises near Clover Power Station, on the slopes of

Mount Bogong Mount Bogong, , located in the Alpine National Park and part of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, is the highest mountain in Victoria, Australia, at above sea level. The Big River separates the massif of the mountain from ...

, the highest mountain in Victoria at . The main river is formed by the confluence of the Kiewa River East branch and West Kiewa River. The Kiewa River flows generally north northwest, joined by eleven minor tributaries, towards its confluence with the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

, southeast of

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

and east of

Wodonga Wodonga ( Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA. Its population is approximately ...

. The main river descends over its course, sedately through cleared farming country downstream of

Mount Beauty Mount Beauty is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The town lies alongside the Kiewa River, at the junction of the Kiewa Valley Highway and Bogong High Plains Road in the Alpine Shire local government area. History The town was ...

; while the West Kiewa River descends over its course, in near-pristine ash and peppermint forest country where the flow is swift, upstream of the town of Mount Beauty. Snowfall is common in the upper reaches of the river during winter, with up to

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

, mainly as snow. The river is impounded by Lake Guy at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

and other

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s associated with the

Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in the Australian state of Victoria and the second-largest in mainland Australia after the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The scheme is situated in the Australian Alps in north-easte ...

, which traps waters flowing from the

Bogong High Plains The Bogong High Plains (), part of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, are a section of plains located in the Alpine National Park in the Australian state of Victoria and are situated south of Mount Bogong. In winter this area is ...

. The McKay Creek and West Kiewa power stations are the major generating elements of the Scheme, which provides peak load to the Victorian electricity grid. Within the Kiewa Valley are the towns of

Tawonga Tawonga is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Kiewa Valley Highway, in the Alpine Shire local government area, northeast of the state capital, Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm ...

, Tangambalanga/Kiewa Township, and

Yackandandah Yackandandah is a small tourist town in northeast Victoria, Australia. It is near the regional cities of Wodonga and Albury, and is close to the tourist town of Beechworth. At the , Yackandandah had a population of 2,008. History The indigeno ...

. The river is crossed by the

Murray Valley Highway Murray Valley Highway is a state highway located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. The popular tourist route mostly follows the southern bank of the Murray River and effectively acts as the northernmost highway in Victoria. For all b ...

at Killara, near its mouth. The

Kiewa Valley Highway The Kiewa Valley Highway is a minor highway of which traverses the Kiewa Valley near the alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. In the 1950s the road was sealed and realigned to Mount Beauty to permit the transport of materials for the const ...

is located adjacent to much of the course of the river. File:West branch Kiewa River 01.jpg, West branch of Kiewa River File:West branch Kiewa River 03.jpg, Fly fishing the west branch

Recreation activities

Tawonga Huts, a series of huts and ruins, are located on the lower reaches of the West Kiewa River, within

Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hig ...

and are accessible by experienced

hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Hist ...

. The Kiewa is a popular fly fishing stream for local anglers as it holds good populations of wild

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

and rainbow trout. The East and West branches of the Kiewa provide important

white water Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and w ...

paddling opportunities for Victorian kayakers. The most reliable time to paddle is in spring during the snow melt. The upper reaches of the Kiewa River and the

are a very popular area for Cross-country skiing through winter and through to the early spring months.

References

External links

* 5.41MB
Paddling Guide
* {{Authority control Rivers of Victoria (Australia) North-East catchment Rivers of Hume (region) Tributaries of the Murray River Victorian Alps Alpine National Park

Location and features

Recreation activities

See also

References

External links