olddingo
Registered: November 2008
Posts: 2,626
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The Tamar River is one of the major estuary systems of the southern Australian marine faunal region. It is the estuary of the North Esk and South Esk Rivers which combine at Launceston, over 63 km from Low Head, where it enters Bass Strait. It is tidal for its whole length, with a 3.5-metre tide occurring twice a day in Launceston. Despite its name, the river is not technically a river but is estuarine. It is saline and tidal over its entire length.
It has inherited 200 years of man's interference, reclaimed mudflats, river diversion, a hydro dam and dumping of sewage and drainage have all taken a toll on the river. In 1833 ships of 400 tons could anchor in the main channel. For many years, ocean going shipping used the river to obtain access to the Port of Launceston located in the city centre. The Port of Launceston is now located at Bell Bay, some 40 kilometres (25 mi) by road from the city, on the east bank of the Tamar estuary, close to its mouth.
In an effort to maintain some shipping in the Tamar dredging is undertaken in this part of the river with the aim of keeping the main channel open. 30,000 cu m of silt is currently pumped from the river per year. Local, state and federal governments continually argue as to who is actually responsible for the state of the estuary.
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