FORTH RIVER

river in northern Tasmania, Australia, rising in the lakes district near Mount Pelion West in the Central Plateau. Fed by its principal tributaries, the Dove and Wilmot, it flows 60 miles (95 km) north to Port Fenton, its estuarine mouth on Bass Strait. Falling steeply over the plateau edge to the agricultural coastal plain, it is the central river of the MerseyForth power project. Water from Lake Mackenzie on the Fisher River and Rowallan Dam on the Mersey River is diverted west to the Forth above Lemonthyme power station. Downstream, a diversion tunnel enters from the Wilmot River (west). The combined flow is then impounded behind several dams, including the Cethana, Devils Gate, and Paloona. The total power generated exceeds 300,000 kilowatts.