DERWENT RIVER

river in Tasmania, Australia, rising in Lake St. Clair on the central plateau and flowing 113 miles (182 km) southeast to enter Storm Bay through a 3.5-mile- (5.5-kilometre-) wide estuary. Its major upper-course tributaries, the Jordan, Clyde, Ouse (now draining the Great Lake), and Dee, are extensively developed for hydropower. Hops are grown on irrigated alluvial terraces along its middle course, while in the rich farming area around New Norfolk fruit orchards predominate. The city of Hobart is situated on the estuary, 12 miles (19 km) from the river's mouth. This stretch of the river forms an excellent deepwater port and is spanned by the Tasman Bridge. The river was sighted and named Rivire du Nord by the French admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1793 and later that same year was renamed after the River Derwent in England.