Gordon River

{{About|the Gordon River in Tasmania|the river in Western Australia|Gordon River (Western Australia)}} [[Image:Gordon_river-hbm.jpg|thumb|Tour boat on lower Gordon River]] The '''Gordon River''' is one of the major rivers of [[Tasmania]], [[Australia]]. It rises in the centre of the island at Lake Richmond and flows westward for about 193km where it empties into [[Macquarie Harbour]] on the [[West Coast, Tasmania|West Coast]] of [[Tasmania]]. Major tributaries include the [[Serpentine River, Tasmania|Serpentine River]] and the [[Franklin River]]. The entire course of the Gordon River is an uninhabited wilderness area. The differentiation between the Upper Gordon River catchment and the Lower Gordon River was made by what were considered impassable gorges - known as the Gordon Splits. [[Olegas Truchanas]] was one who was able to travel through these. ==Upper Gordon River== [[Image:Gordon_River.jpg|thumb|left|Reflections of the forest on the Gordon River]] The [[Gordon Power Station, Tasmania|Gordon Dam]] was constructed to impound the upper reaches of the Gordon River, forming [[Lake Gordon]] and the new [[Lake Pedder]] for [[hydro-electric]] power generation. ==Lower Gordon River== [[Image:GordonRiver1.JPG|200px|thumb|right|The "weak tea" coloured water of the Gordon River]] Additional dams were proposed for the lower part of the river but the plans were dropped due to changing public opinion. In particular, the [[Franklin Dam]] was proposed just downstream of the junction with the [[Franklin River]], and would have flooded much of both rivers. It was a major political and environmental issue in the 1980s. The lower part of the Gordon River is part of the [[World Heritage]] area and contains a cold-climate rainforest and rare trees. As with many rivers in western Tasmania, the water is fresh and drinkable, but has the colour of weak tea due to the absorption of tannin from button grass growing in the catchment area. Boat excursions to the lower Gordon River from [[Macquarie Harbour]] are popular with tourists in [[Strahan, Tasmania|Strahan]].Seaplane flights depart Strahan during the warmer months and include an out landing on the Gordon River. Usually a duration of one hour. ==See also== * [[Commonwealth v Tasmania]] * [[Gordon Splits]] * [[Franklin River]] * [[King River, Tasmania]] ==Further reading== *Gee, H and Fenton, J. (Eds) (1978) ''[[The South West Book]] - A Tasmanian Wilderness'' Melbourne, Australian Conservation Foundation. ISBN 0-85802-054-8 * Lines, William J. (2006) ''Patriots : defending Australia's natural heritage'' St. Lucia, Qld. : University of Queensland Press, 2006. ISBN 0-70223-554-7 *Neilson, D. (1975) ''South West Tasmania - A land of the Wild''. Adelaide. Rigby. ISBN 0-85179-874-8 {{coord missing|Tasmania}}