The King River is a major perennial river in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.

Location and features

thumb|left|King river at entrance to Macquarie Harbour - the [[West Coast Wilderness Railway line passes from the right of this picture to enter the King River Valley at the left of photo. Delta of eroded material is typical at this location. Hell's Gates is at top of picture (out of view) and Strahan is to the right off photo. Photo hazy due to bushfires of January 2003.]]

Formed by the confluence of the Eldon and South Eldon rivers, the King River rises near Eldon Range on the slopes of the West Coast Range between Mount Huxley and Mount Jukes. The river flows generally south and then west, joined by nine tributaries including the Tofft, Governor, Nelson, Princess, and Queen rivers before emptying into Macquarie Harbour near , and merging with the Southern Ocean. The river descends over its course. Mining started in the 1880s, with the Queen River, a major tributary of the King River, being used for waste water disposal from the Mt Lyell copper mine.

Between 1922 and 1995 low grade ore was concentrated on site and the tailings (ore-washing residue) dumped in the river also.

About 1.5 million tonnes of sulfidic tailings entered the river system each year up to 1995, along with huge volumes of acidic, metal-rich water flowing from the workings. This 'acid mine drainage' is derived from water leaching through the exposed and oxidised sulfide rocks. When it was in operation, the fumes from the ore smelter produced acid rain which also leached minerals from the bare Queenstown hills.

In 1992 the King River was dammed above the confluence with the Queen River to generate hydroelectric power at the Crotty Dam. This changed the flow regime in the King River, and affected the way tailings were transported through the river system. The tailings in the river greatly affect the water quality.

About 100 million tonnes of tailings have been deposited on the banks and bed of the King River and in a delta at the mouth of the river where it enters Macquarie Harbour.

Since the closure of the mine in late 1995, and the construction of a tailings dam by the new operators, tailings no longer enter the river system. However, acid water continues to enter the river due to mine dewatering and run-off from the waste rock dumps. Without the buffering previously provided by the alkaline tailings, the acidity in the Queen and King rivers has increased, and dissolved metal concentrations have greatly increased-to levels highly toxic to aquatic life.

Abt Railway route

The north bank (except for the Teepookana to Quarter Mile Bridge section which was on the south bank) of the lower portion of the King River valley was the route for the old "Abt" rack railway to Queenstown. In 1962 the original builder and owner, the Mount Lyell railway line closed and the line was removed. This has been since restored in early 2002 for tourism purposes. The new line follows exactly the same route and is known as the West Coast Wilderness Railway.

See also

  • Rivers of Tasmania

References

Sources

  • http://www.deh.gov.au/ssd/publications/ssr/120.html
  • "King River". rpdc.tas.gov.au
  • "Hydro Tasmania - King Catchment". hydro.com.au
  • Power Schemes Storages