Murrumbidgee River Size report

The Murrumbidgee River is an important tributary of Australia's longest river, the Murray River. Originating west of Cooma in the mountains of Australia, the river flows northward through the Capital Territory. It flows westward across New South Wales, which joins the Lachlan River north of Barranad and into the Murray River.

Murrumbidgee means big water in Aboriginal cultures, and the river has been the livelihood of the Wiradjuri people for thousands of years, producing mussels, crayfish, and fish. Wildlife in the area includes wildfowl, turkeys, bandicoots, emus, and kangaroos.

In 1832, the city of Wagga Wagga was established on the south bank of the river and stretched across the river to North Wagga Wagga. There are a series of water conservancy facilities in the middle and upper reaches of the river for agricultural irrigation and animal husbandry. Navigable in the middle and lower rainy seasons.

Size And Description of Murrumbidgee River

From 1829 to 1830, Charles Sturt discovered that the Murrumbidgee River could lead to the Hume River. The Murrumbidgee River is one of the main tributaries on the right bank of the Murray River, located in southeastern New South Wales. The river originates from the Tantangara Reservoir in the Eastern Highlands, flows southeast to Cooma, turns northward, crosses the capital Canberra Territory, turns westward at Yass, joins the Lachlan River about 30km south of Oxley City, and then joins the Murray River at140 miles from the Victorian border.

The Murrumbidgee River is diverse and complex. The Murrumbidgee catchment is home to many wetlands and riverine environments, including the Lowbidgee wetlands, Tuckerbill, and Fivebough swamps. Its main tributaries are Cooma River, Rockflat River, Numeralla River, Bredbo River, Nass River, Cotter River, Molonglo, Yanco, and Lachlan. The Lachlan River is the largest tributary of the Murrumbidgee River. The major cities along the river are Canberra (the federal capital), Yass, Wagga Wagga, Narrandera, Hay, and Balranald.

Murrumbidgee River Size

As the third-longest river in Australia, the total length of the Murrumbidgee River is about 1,485 kilometers (923 miles), and the river's drainage basin occupies 84,020 sq km (32,440 sq mi). The annual stream flow of the Murrumbidgee River reaches 4,000 GL per year.

Regional Economy

The Murrumbidgee River Irrigation Area is mainly in the middle reaches of the basin and its adjacent plains. It is an agricultural planning and production enterprise of more than 2,590 square kilometers (1,000 square miles). The irrigation development of the Murrumbidgee River Basin began in 1892, and a survey was carried out on the entire basin with funding from the state government in 1896. After nearly 80 years of continuous expansion, renewal, and complete supporting facilities, the project has formed a collection of various water sources in the integrated large-scale irrigation project.

Almost one-third of the basin's population, approximately 550,000, live in the Murrumbidgee catchment. This area develops animal husbandry, planting grapes, citrus, wheat, and cotton, and it is also one of the highest rice production areas in the world. Irrigation water mainly comes from the Burrinjuck and Berembed reservoirs. The Murrumbidgee's largest tributary, the Tumut River, is part of the complex Snowy Mountains irrigation–hydroelectric development scheme.

Final Words

The Murrumbidgee River is home to endangered fish and aquatic species, including the Murray cray, the trout cod, and the Murray cod. Its catchment area supports large numbers of waterbirds, many of which breed in the extensive lignum swamps and provide habitat for many threatened species. The river plays host to various activities, from water sports to bushwalking. Don't forget to check out the picturesque picnic and camping spots.