Darwin Dam
| Darwin Dam | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Darwin Dam in Tasmania
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| Country | Australia |
| Location | West Coast Tasmania |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Purpose | Power |
| Status | Operational |
| Opening date | 1990 |
| Owner(s) | Hydro Tasmania |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment dam |
| Impounds | off stream |
| Height | 20 metres (66 ft) |
| Length | 700 metres (2,300 ft) |
| Dam volume | 430×103 m3 (15×106 cu ft) |
| Spillways | 0 |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Burbury |
| Total capacity | 1,081,420 ML (38,190×106 cu ft) |
| Active capacity | 1,065,000 ML (37,600×106 cu ft) |
| Catchment area | 559 km2 (216 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 53,250×103 m2 (573.2×106 sq ft) |
| Website hydro |
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The Darwin Dam is an offstream earthfill embankment saddle dam without a spillway, located in Western Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir, also formed by Crotty Dam, is called Lake Burbury.[1]
The dam was constructed in 1990 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) for the purpose of generating hydro-electric power via the John Butters Power Station.[2]
Features and location
The Darwin Dam, together with the Crotty Dam, are two major dams that form the headwaters for the King River Hydroelectric Power Development. The dam is located in the upper reaches of the King River gorge where the river breaks through the West Coast Range. It captures the high rainfall in the catchment of the King River and allows diversion of water through a tunnel to the John Butters Power Station downstream of the dam. Water from the dam is piped down a 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) tunnel to the John Butters Power Station[3] which is close to the confluence of the King River with the Queen River.
The Darwin Dam wall, constructed with 430 thousand cubic metres (15×106 cu ft) of earth core, is 20 metres (66 ft) high and 700 metres (2,300 ft) long. At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back 1,081,420 megalitres (38,190×106 cu ft) of water. The surface area of Lake Burbury is 53,250 hectares (131,600 acres) and the catchment area is 559 square kilometres (216 sq mi). The dam wall does not have a spillway.[4]
The dam draws its name from Mount Darwin, a peak located to the west of the dam wall. Both locations draw their names from the railway stopping place and the ghost town site of Darwin that was situated on the North Mount Lyell Railway between Gormanston and Kelly Basin.
In the 1910s the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company had investigated and surveyed a site very close to this dam for a proposed scheme.
See also
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References
Further reading
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- 2003 edition - Queenstown: Municipality of Queenstown.
- 1949 edition - Hobart: Davies Brothers. OCLC 48825404; ASIN B000FMPZ80
- 1924 edition - Queenstown: Mount Lyell Tourist Association. OCLC 35070001; ASIN B0008BM4XC
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- Use Australian English from February 2015
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Use dmy dates from February 2015
- Western Tasmania
- West Coast Range (Tasmania)
- Hydro Tasmania dams
- Embankment dams
- Infrastructure completed in 1990
- Infrastructure in Australia
- Pages with broken file links
- Australian dam stubs
