The
Tweed River is a short river in the North Coast region of New South Wales
, Australia.
Its
drainage basin consists mostly of the
erosion caldera of the Tweed Volcano, a huge extinct volcano of which Mount Warning
is the volcanic
plug. The branches of the river join at Murwillumbah
and flow about 20 kilometres northeast to Tweed
Heads
where they enter the sea.
The total catchment size of the Tweed River is 1080 km2.
The
watershed is bordered by the McPherson Range
, Burringbar Range,
Condong Range and Tweed Range.
The Tweed River area has a fine subtropical climate, high rainfall
and fertile volcanic soils. It was originally covered by
rainforest, much of which has been cleared. Some remains in several
national parks and reserves. The lowlands along the river are used
for farming sugar cane and other crops.
The Tweed
was named after the River Tweed and
forms part of the border between Queensland
and New South Wales. Even though parts of
the river are a few kilometres within the New South Wales side of
the border, the expression "North of the Tweed" is used to refer to
the people and places of Queensland; likewise, "South of the Tweed"
is a term used by Queenslanders regarding the southern states of
Australia. The term probably originates from southern Australians'
summer vacation trips driving along the
Pacific Highway through the
scenic New South Wales North Coast. The highway crosses many rivers
along its route, with the Tweed being the last one before reaching
the holiday destinations of the
Gold Coast, just on the other side of
the Queensland border.
Upper Tweed Valley
The
surrounding Tweed
Shire
is also a Local Government
Area of New South Wales.
Course
The river begins northwest of the village called Lillian Rock.
The upper
reaches pass through the small villages of Kunghur, Terragon and
Uki
. South of Mount Warning
Doon Doon Creek which is dammed by the
Clarrie Hall Dam and Perch Creek
enter the Tweed from its southern banks and Byrill Creek joins on
the northern side near Terragon. Downstream Korumbyn Creek and then
at Byangum the larger
Oxley River enters
the river, before it flows through Murwiilumbah. At
Tumbulgum the
Rous River joins the Tweed.
Upper Tweed Valley showing the caldera
wall
Mouth
There is a
sand bypassing
system operating at the mouth of the Tweed River. A
jetty on the northern end of
Letitia Spit that collects sand and then pumps
it under the Tweed River to beaches in the neighbouring state of
Queensland. Outlets for the Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing
System include
Duranbah Beach,
Snapper Rocks East, Snapper Rocks West,
Greenmount and
Kirra.
Dredging of
the navigation entrance is also undertaken regularly as part of the
overall sand bypassing program.
See also
References
External links
Wikis
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