Cotter River
| Cotter River | ||
 The Cotter Dam in December 2005, the effects of the bushfires in January 2003 are still clearly visible |
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| Data | ||
| location | Australian Capital Territory , Australia | |
| River system | Murray River | |
| Drain over | Murrumbidgee River → Murray River → Indian Ocean | |
| source | Mount Scabby ( Namadgi National Park ) 35 ° 45 ′ 33 ″ S , 148 ° 51 ′ 23 ″ E |
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| Source height | 1760 m | |
| muzzle |
Murrumbidgee River Coordinates: 35 ° 19 ′ 28 " S , 148 ° 56 ′ 59" E 35 ° 19 ′ 28 " S , 148 ° 56 ′ 59" E |
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| Mouth height | 466 m | |
| Height difference | 1294 m | |
| Bottom slope | 17 ‰ | |
| length | 75.6 km | |
| Left tributaries | Porcupine Creek, Condor Creek | |
| Right tributaries | Licking Hole Creek, Long Creek, Kangaroo Creek, Paddys River | |
| Reservoirs flowed through | Corin Reservoir , Bendora Reservoir , Cotter Reservoir | |
The Cotter River is a river in the west of the Australian Capital Territory , the area around the Australian capital Canberra .
It rises on the northern slopes of Mount Scabby in the Australian Alps , flows north and flows into the Murrumbidgee River .
In 1908 the surveyor Charles Scrivener recommended Canberra as the location of the future capital. The supply of drinking water played a decisive role here. Almost a fifth of the newly created capital territory ACT consisted of the catchment area of the Cotter River . Today this is mostly in the area of the Namadgi National Park .
The ACTEW Corporation operates three on the river water reservoirs is led from where drinking water to Canberra. These are dammed by three dams :
- The Cotter Dam is a gravity dam built in 1912 . It was increased in 1951 to increase capacity; today this amounts to 4.7 million m³. The water quality has deteriorated and the reservoir is only tapped when there is a lack of water.
- The Bendora dam (Bendora Dam) is an arch dam built in 1961 , the reservoir holds 11.54 million m³.
- The Corin Dam, built in 1967, is a dam built up with rock and earth , the capacity is 70.9 million m³.
The area around the Cotter River is a popular recreational area for residents of the Australian capital.
