Mitta Mitta River
Encyclopedia
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Murray River
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the source of approximately 40% of the Murray's flow.
The river's headwaters include Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
's highest mountain, Mount Bogong
Mount Bogong
Mount Bogong , located in the Alpine National Park, is the highest mountain in Victoria, Australia. The Big River separates the massif of the mountain from the Bogong High Plains to the south. "Bogong" in the local Aboriginal language means bigfella...
, with the Mitta Mitta itself forming at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Cobungra River
Cobungra River
The Cobungra River is a river of Gippsland in eastern Victoria, Australia.The Cobungra River rises below the slopes of the ski resort at Mount Hotham and Mount Loch...
and the Big River
Big River (Victoria)
The Big River is a river of Gippsland in eastern Victoria, Australia. It flows from the northern slopes of Falls Creek in the Australian Alps, joining with the Cobungra River near Anglers Rest to form the Mitta Mitta River.-Course:...
, just south of Anglers Rest
Anglers Rest, Victoria
Anglers Rest is a locality in Victoria, Australia. It is on the Omeo Highway, north of Omeo in the Shire of East Gippsland, almost totally surrounded by the Alpine National Park...
. The river then winds its way north about 100 kilometres, gradually slowing before joining the Murray east of Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
.
The river's flow is heavily modified by the presence of two major dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s, the Dartmouth Dam
Dartmouth Dam
Dartmouth Dam is a large dam on the Mitta Mitta River in the north-eastern portion of the Australian state of Victoria. The dam creates the artificial Lake Dartmouth, storing water from the Victorian "High Country's" snow fields for summer release into the Mitta Mitta and subsequently into the...
and the Hume Dam
Lake Hume
Lake Hume is an artificial lake in Australia formed by the Hume Weir east of Albury-Wodonga on the Murray River just downstream of its junction with the Mitta River. The small towns of Tallangatta, Bonegilla and Bellbridge are located on the shores of Lake Hume...
. Upstream of the Dartmouth Dam, the river flows swiftly through near-pristine forest. Below the dam, it travels more sedately through flatter, cleared farming country (some of which is now irrigated using its water, though most continues downstream to meet the needs of irrigators there).
The junction with the Murray is now submerged beneath the waters of Lake Hume
Lake Hume
Lake Hume is an artificial lake in Australia formed by the Hume Weir east of Albury-Wodonga on the Murray River just downstream of its junction with the Mitta River. The small towns of Tallangatta, Bonegilla and Bellbridge are located on the shores of Lake Hume...
for a large part of the time.
The river valley used to flood on a nearly annual basis, but the completion of Dartmouth Dam in the 1970s largely eliminated the floods.
For the fisherman, the Mitta Mitta river is a good source for trout, particularly brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
and the occasional rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
.
The Mitta Valley contains four small towns:
- Mitta MittaMitta Mitta, VictoriaMitta Mitta is a small town in the Australian state of Victoria. It stands on the Omeo Highway and is 380 km from Melbourne, and is located on the Mitta Mitta River not far from Dartmouth Dam...
- EskdaleEskdale, VictoriaEskdale is a small town near the major regional centre of Albury-Wodonga, in Victoria's north. It is situated in the Mitta Valley, near the river's confluence with the Little Snowy Creek, amongst the foothills of Mount Bogong...
- DartmouthDartmouth, VictoriaDartmouth is a town in Victoria, Australia.It was established in 1973 as a construction camp for workers working on the Dartmouth Dam and the Post Office opened on 1 March 1973...
- TallangattaTallangatta, VictoriaTallangatta is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Tallangatta had a population of 950.The town is situated on the banks of the Mitta Arm of Lake Hume, approximately south-east of Albury-Wodonga along the Murray Valley Highway.-History:Tallangatta was founded in...