Tooma River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tooma River |
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Overlooking Tooma River from Ardenside Road, Tooma
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| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales, Victoria |
| Region | IBRA: Australian Alps, Snowy Mountains, Victorian Alps |
| Local government areas | Tumbarumba, Towong |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Snowy Mountains Mount Jagungal, New South Wales 1,590 m (5,220 ft) |
| River mouth | confluence with the Murray River near Tintaldra, Victoria 236 m (774 ft) |
| Length | 74 km (46 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Murray River, Murray–Darling basin |
| Tributaries |
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| Reservoir | Tooma Reservoir |
Tooma River, a perennial stream that has had some of its flow diverted as a result of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, is part of the Murray catchment within the Murray–Darling basin and is located in the Australian Alpine region of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia.
Course and features
The river rises near Mount Jagungal on the western slopes of the Snowy Mountains and its natural flow drains generally north, then west before turning south, joined by eight tributaries including the Tumbarumba Creek, and reaching its confluence with the Murray River between the villages of Tooma and Tintaldra; descending 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) over its 74 kilometres (46 mi) course.
The Tooma Reservoir, part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, captures water in the headwaters of the Tooma River, and diverts some of the water to the Tumut Pondage on the Tumut River, where the water is used to generate electricity in the sequence of hydro-electric power stations along the length of the Tumut River. This diversion results in a transfer of water from the Murray River catchment (which includes the Tooma River), to the Murrumbidgee River catchment (which includes the Tumut River). However, a compensating opposite transfer from the Murrumbidgee to the Murray basins is made using a different part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
