Cataract Gorge
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219503859
2008-06-15T15:19:40Z
Martybugs
5346469
added info about King's Bridge-Cataract Walk, added pic
[[Image:Cataract_Gorge.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Picture of Cataract Gorge taken from the suspension bridge]]
[[Image:SouthEskFlood.jpg|200px|thumb|left|[[South Esk River]] in flood]]
[[Image:CataractWalk.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Kings Bridge - Cataract Walk pathway along the north bank]]
[[Image:Kingsbridge.JPG|200px|thumb|right|Kings Bridge at the junction of the [[Tamar River (Tasmania)|Tamar]] and South Esk Rivers]]
The '''Cataract Gorge''' is a [[canyon|river gorge]] in northern [[Tasmania]], near [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]], and is one of the region's premier tourist attractions.
A pathway, known as the King’s Bridge-Cataract Walk, and originally built by volunteers in the 1890s, runs along the north bank of the Cataract Gorge<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ausemade.com.au/tas/destination/c/cataract-gorge/cataract-gorge-reserve.htm|title=Cataract Gorge Reserve|date=2008-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discovertasmania.com/activities__and__attractions/popular_attractions/cataract_gorge|title=Cataract Gorge|date=2008-06-15}}</ref>, and is a popular tourist destination.
The [[chairlift]] crossing the Gorge is the longest single span chairlift in the world, with the longest span being 308m (924 ft).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.puretasmania.com.au/default.asp?pID=120|title=Longest Single span chairlift|date=2007-09-22}}</ref> The chairlift, built in [[1972]], has a total span of 457m.
Before the Hydro Dam was built in the [[1950's]] upstream, flood waters could rise up as high as 12 metres.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} In the past, there was a power station at [[Duck Reach]], about 2.5 kilometres from the suspension bridge. It was washed away in the floods of [[1929]], rebuilt and then decommissioned when the new Hydro Dam was finished in [[1955]]. The building is now an interpretive museum.
The '''First Basin''' on the southern side features a swimming pool and an open area surrounded by bushland.
At the lower end of the Gorge, the [[South Esk River|South Esk]] spills into the [[Tamar River]] going under [[Kings Bridge]] on the way. This was the only bridge leading north out of the city for nearly 100 years.
{{coor title dms|41|26|46|S|147|7|10|E}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2007}}
[[Category:Geography of Tasmania]]
[[Category:Canyons and gorges of Australia]]
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