Rivers of Tasmania

This page discusses the rivers and hydrography of the state of Tasmania, Australia.

In the geography of Tasmania, the state is covered with a network of rivers and lake systems. As an island, all rivers eventually empty into the waters that surround Tasmania. There are four main river systems:^[1]

1. In the south, the Derwent flows from the Central Highlands past Hobart, to the sea at Storm Bay;
2. In the west, the Gordon River takes the waters of Lake Gordon and Lake Pedder and is joined by the Franklin River before flowing into Macquarie Harbour;
3. Flowing eastwards and to the south, the Huon River has its headwaters at Scotts Peak Dam on Lake Pedder, and reaches the sea in D'Entrecasteaux Channel; and
4. Flowing from the north-east, the South Esk, the state's longest river, joins the North Esk at Launceston to create the Tamar.

Compared to the rest of Australia,^[2] Tasmania has a very high proportion of wild or undisturbed rivers.^[3][4]

Major catchments of Tasmania are linked to the major rivers, the most notable being the Derwent. Catchments by region are:

• Gordon River

• Arthur River
• Pieman River

The following rivers are the longest river systems, by length.^[1]

Longest rivers in Tasmania by length
(January 2008)

Order	River name	Length		Region(s)
		km	mi
1	South Esk	252	157	Midlands
2	Derwent	215	134	Central Highlands
3	Arthur	189	117	West Coast
4	Gordon	186	116	Central Highlands; South-west; Western
5	Huon	169	105	South-west
6	Mersey	158	98	North-west
7	Franklin	129	80	Central Highlands; West Coast
8	Leven	99	62	North-west
9	North Esk	97	60	Northern
10	Pieman	38	24	West Coast

• List of rivers of Tasmania