The Styx River is a

perennial river A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the ab ...

in the centre of southern

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. The upper reaches of the Styx River are in the

Tasmanian Wilderness The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering , or almost 25% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last e ...

, south west of

Maydena Maydena is a locality in Tasmania, Australia, alongside the River Tyenna. Maydena is on the Gordon River Road, south west of New Norfolk, through the Bushy Park Hop Fields, turn left at Westerway, past Mount Field National Park and Russell Fa ...

. The river is a popular destination for river-rafting and canoeing.

Location and features

The Styx River rises below Mount Mueller at an elevation of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

and flows generally east by north, joined by five minor tributaries, before reaching its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river ( main stem); ...

with the River Derwent near Macquarie Plains, west of . The river descends over its

course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

. The

Styx Valley The Styx Valley is a valley located adjacent to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site on the island of Tasmania, Australia. The Styx River is the main drainage system of the valley that lies about northwest of Hobart, with the nearest t ...

contains old growth forests including the tallest hardwood trees on earth, ''

Eucalyptus regnans ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euc ...

''. The Wilderness Society and Senator

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasm ...

have campaigned to save the forest from harvesting for sawn timber and

woodchips Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. Woodchips may be used as a biomass solid fuel and are raw mater ...

. Some trees are so large they have become tourist attractions and named, including the ''Christmas Tree'' and ''Chapel Tree''. The first settlers in the Styx Valley arrived in 1812. The name has no classical associations; early colonial visitors noted the many fallen trees, stripped of bark and bleached by years of exposure, laying across the river and along the banks. The name came from this feature, literally, the 'river of sticks' - Sticks River. The name was changed later by a government official.McKay, Journals of the Land Commissioners for Van Diemen's Land 1826–28, p. 38

References

Rivers of Tasmania Southern Tasmania River Derwent (Tasmania) {{Tasmania-river-stub

Location and features

See also

References