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Rivers of New South Wales facts for kids

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This page talks about the amazing rivers and water systems (called hydrography) in the Australian state of New South Wales.

New South Wales has a big natural feature called the Great Dividing Range. These are low mountains and plateaus that run from north to south, close to the coast of the Coral and Tasman seas, which are part of the South Pacific Ocean.

The rivers in New South Wales fall into two main groups. Some rivers start in the Great Dividing Range and flow east towards the ocean. These are called the Coastal NSW Rivers. Other rivers start on the western side of the range and flow west. Most of these western rivers eventually join the huge Murray-Darling river system, which finally reaches the ocean in South Australia.

Longest Rivers in New South Wales

Here are the longest river systems in New South Wales, listed by their length. This information was last updated in September 2008.

Longest rivers in New South Wales by length
(September 2008)
Order River name Length Region(s) Notes
km mi
1 Murray 2,508 1,558 Riverina About 1,808 kilometres (1,123 mi) of this river is in NSW. It's also Australia's longest river.
2 Murrumbidgee 1,488 925 Riverina About 1,429 kilometres (888 mi) of this river is in NSW. It's Australia's second longest river.
3 Darling 1,472 915 Far West This entire river is in NSW. It's Australia's third longest river.
4 Lachlan 1,440 895 Central West and Riverina This entire river is in NSW. It's Australia's fourth longest river.
5 Macquarie 960 597 Central West This entire river is in NSW.
6 Barwon 700 435 North West Slopes This entire river is in NSW.

Coastal Rivers of New South Wales

The Great Dividing Range is quite close to the eastern coast of New South Wales. Because of this, the rivers flowing to the coast are usually short. You can only sail on them in their lowest parts, if at all. These rivers can also flood when there's a lot of rain.

The rivers are managed by grouping them into four main areas called catchments. These catchments are then divided into smaller sub-catchments. Below is a list of the coastal rivers in New South Wales, starting from the north and moving south. They are grouped by their catchment and sub-catchment, from the river's mouth (where it meets the sea) up to its higher parts, and then by its smaller connecting rivers (tributaries).

Inland-Flowing Rivers of New South Wales

The rivers that flow inland in New South Wales can be divided into two main groups.

In the northern part of the state, several rivers start on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. These rivers flow west and northwest. They eventually join to form the Barwon River, which then becomes the Darling River further west, near Bourke. The Darling River's waters then flow south through the very dry western part of NSW.

The second group of inland rivers in NSW starts in the southern part of the state. Most of their water comes from the western and southern slopes of the Snowy Mountains and the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range. These rivers flow directly into the Murray River, which forms the southern border between NSW and Victoria.

These two big river groups meet at Wentworth, in the far southwest corner of the state. This is where the Murray River crosses the borders of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, just east of Paringa in South Australia.

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