Clarence River (Tasman Sea)

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Clarence River
Grafton Bridge over the Clarence River

Grafton Bridge over the Clarence River

Data
location New South Wales , Australia
River system Clarence River
source at Rivertree in the McPherson Range
28 ° 38 ′ 34 ″  S , 152 ° 16 ′ 10 ″  E
Source height 248  m
muzzle Tasman Sea near Yamba Coordinates: 29 ° 25 '37 "  S , 153 ° 21' 53"  E 29 ° 25 '37 "  S , 153 ° 21' 53"  E
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference 248 m
Bottom slope 0.72 ‰
length 343 km
Catchment area 22,850 km²
Drain MQ
 160 m³ / s
Left tributaries Maryland River , Koreelah Creek, Cullens Creek, Tooloom Creek, Duck Creek, Peacock Creek, Bottle Creek, Tabulam Rivulet, Dulgigin Creek, Whiteman Creek, Sportsmans Creek, Clarence River North Arm
Right tributaries Boonoo Boonoo River , Bangalo Creek, Cataract River , Pretty Gully, Emu Creek, Timbarra River , Washpool Creek, Mann River , Main Creek, Orara River , Clarence River South Arm, Palmers Channel
Medium-sized cities Grafton , Ulmarra, MacLean
Small towns Pretty Gully, Tabulam, Alice, Copmanhurst, Cowper, Lawrence, Harwood, Iluka, Yamba
Bridge of the Bruxner Highway over the Clarence River at Tabulam

Bridge of the Bruxner Highway over the Clarence River at Tabulam

Grafton Bridge over the Clarence River. One section is open to allow shipping traffic through. (Postcard from around 1932; the Southern Cross plane was added to the photo afterwards.)

Grafton Bridge over the Clarence River. One section is open to allow shipping traffic through. (Postcard from around 1932; the Southern Cross plane was added to the photo afterwards.)

The Clarence River is a river in the northeast of the Australian state of New South Wales .

The Aborigines on the lower reaches of the river call this Breimba or Berrinbah . The river was named after Prince William, 1st Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews , who later became King William IV of Britain .

geography

The Clarence River emerges in the McPherson Range on the border between New South Wales and Queensland from the confluence of the Boonoo Boonoo River and Maryland River and flows in a south-easterly direction to Grafton . There it turns to the northeast and flows into the Tasman Sea , a marginal sea of ​​the Pacific , at Yamba between Bundjalung National Park and Yuraygir National Park .

There are many islands in the lower reaches such as Woodford Island , Chatsworth Island and Harwood Island .

The lower part of the river valley belongs to the Clarence Valley Local Government Area .

Tributaries with mouth heights

  • Boonoo Boonoo River - 248 m
  • Maryland River - 248 m
  • Koreelah Creek - 239 m
  • Cullens Creek - 235 m
  • Bangalo Creek - 199 m
  • Tooloom Creek - 197 m
  • Cataract River - 176 m
  • Pretty Gully - 147 m
  • Duck Creek - 137 m
  • Peacock Creek - 125 m
  • Bottle Creek - 122 m
  • Emu Creek - 119 m
  • Timbarra River - 117 m
  • Tabulam Rivulet - 116 m
  • Dulgigin Creek - 104 m
  • Washpool Creek - 92 m
  • Mann River - 44 m
  • Main Creek - 10 m
  • Orara River - 8 m
  • Whiteman Creek - 5 m
  • Sportsmans Creek - 3 m
  • Clarence River North Arm - 0 m
  • Clarence River South Arm - 0 m
  • Palmer's Channel - 0 m

Water flow

The Clarence River system is one of the most important drainage systems on the east coast of Australia. After the Murray and Darling Rivers , it is the largest river system in Australia south of the Tropic of Capricorn , although its water flow is only about 50% of that of the Potomac River . Its catchment area, along with the similarly structured Hawkesbury River, is Australia's largest south of Bundaberg . However, the very intense rainfall that is typical of the northern part of the New South Wales coast can ensure that the water level in the river during floods is comparable to that of some of the largest rivers in the world.

climate

The climate in the greater part of the catchment area of ​​the Clarence River is subtropical ( Cfa according to the effective climate classification ), even if the higher areas are classified as Cfb .

rainfalls

The annual rainfall varies between 1600 mm on the coast near Yamba and 960 mm in the protected river valley near Grafton. At higher altitudes, annual rainfall can reach 2000 mm on exposed slopes, but the data on this are very sparse. Most high-altitude areas don't get more rain than Grafton, but the variation from year to year is less.

The monthly rainfall on the coast ranges between 220 mm in February or March and around 70 mm in September. In the interior of the country, where forest fires often occur after extreme drought - as in 1915 and 2000 - values ​​of only 40 mm can be achieved.

Temperatures

The entire catchment area is quite warm. The maxima in the lower ranges vary from 27 ° C in January to 19 ° C in July. The higher areas are significantly cooler. The July temperatures move there between 2 ° C and 13 ° C, but in January they also reach 25 ° C.

Vegetation and agriculture

Most of the catchment area of ​​the Clarence River is heavily forested. There are also remnants of subtropical and warm temperate rainforest along the entire course of the river. Agriculture on a large scale is only found in the alluvial areas, where the soil is less depleted. In addition to cattle breeding in the higher areas, sugar cane is mainly grown in the lower regions .

Of particular interest is the small town of Harwood on the island of the same name, where the Sperry New Holland factory and a strange bush pub are located above the Clarence River delta. The city is on the Pacific Highway , the main route from Sydney to Brisbane . This is also where the local sugar factory , founded in 1873, is located , the oldest still in operation in Australia today. The sugar factory is located directly on the river because the sugar cane used to be transported on the river from the surrounding farms.

fishing

There is a large shrimp and fishing industry on the Clarence River . In particular, the eastern freshwater cod ( Macculochella ikei ), an endangered fish species found only in the Clarence River system, and the Australian perch ( Macquaria novemaculeata ) can be found in the river.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Map of Clarence River, NSW . Bonzle.com
  2. ↑ The discharge can vary between 1 m³ / s and 20,000 m³ / s.
  3. ↑ Jennifer Hoff: Bundjalung Jugun (German: Bundjalung-Land ). Richmond River Historical Society (2006). ISBN 1-875-474-24-2 . with quotes from Yamba Yesterday . Howland and Lee. Yamba Centenary Committee (1985)