GOULBURN RIVER, VICTORIA

The Goulburn River is a major inland river in Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victoria Alps, near Mount Buller making it the longest river in Victoria at 654km. The Eildon Dam creates Lake Eildon, a major storage of water for irrigation. From Lake Eildon, most of the irrigation water goes to Goulburn Weir and Waranga Basin.

North of Eildon the Goulburn River enters the northern plains of Victoria and eventually flows into the Murray River near Echuca. This area is a very productive irrigated agricultural area. The Goulburn River was named after Henry Goulburn (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856;   an English Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846).

Tributaries of the river include the Broken, Rubicon, Delatite, Howqua, Jamieson and Yea Rivers. Much of the flow is extracted, and the river is very heavily regulated, which has strongly affected the river's ecosystem. With recent years being some of the driest on record in the basin, there has been even further stress on the river's ecosystem. The river passes through some Victorian country towns like Seymour, Nagambie and Shepparton.

This post is part of the Water World Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.