The Styx River is 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 ...
in the centre of southern
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Australia. The upper reaches of the Styx River are in the
Tasmanian Wilderness
The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering , or almost 25% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last ex ...
, south west of
Maydena
Maydena is a locality in Tasmania, Australia, alongside the River Tyenna.
Maydena is on the Gordon River Road, south west of New Norfolk, through the Bushy Park Hop Fields, turn left at Westerway, past Mount Field National Park and Russell Fa ...
. The river is a popular destination for river-rafting and canoeing.
Location and features
The Styx River rises below Mount Mueller at an elevation of
above sea level and flows generally east by north, joined by five minor tributaries, before reaching its
confluence with the
River Derwent near Macquarie Plains, west of . The river descends over its
course.
[
The Styx Valley contains old growth forests including the tallest hardwood trees on earth, '']Eucalyptus regnans
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euc ...
''. The Wilderness Society and Senator Bob Brown
Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...
have campaigned to save the forest from harvesting for sawn timber and woodchips. Some trees are so large they have become tourist attractions and named, including the ''Christmas Tree'' and ''Chapel Tree''.
The first settlers in the Styx Valley arrived in 1812. The name has no classical associations; early colonial visitors noted the many fallen trees, stripped of bark and bleached by years of exposure, laying across the river and along the banks. The name came from this feature, literally, the 'river of sticks' - Sticks River. The name was changed later by a government official.[McKay, Journals of the Land Commissioners for Van Diemen's Land 1826–28, p. 38]
See also
*List of rivers of Tasmania
This is a partial list of rivers in Tasmania, Australia.
* Achilles
* Adams
* Albert
* Andrew
* Anne
* Anthony
* Apsley
* Arm
* Arthur
* Arve
* Badger
* Bird
* Black
* Blackman
* Bluff
* Blythe
* Boyd
* Boyes
* Braddon
* Break O'Day
...
References
Rivers of Tasmania
Southern Tasmania
River Derwent (Tasmania)
{{Tasmania-river-stub