Murrumbidgee River

Murrumbidgee River
Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga
The Murrumbidgee is a major tributary of the Murray River
Etymology	Aboriginal Wiradjuri language: "big water"[1]
Nickname(s)	'bidgee
Location
Country	Australia
State/Territory	New South Wales Australian Capital Territory
IBRA	South Eastern Highlands Riverina
Districts	Monaro Capital Country South West Slopes Riverina Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
Municipalities	Queanbeyan–Palerang Snowy Monaro Yass Valley Snowy Valleys Cootamundra-Gundagai Junee Coolamon Wagga Wagga Narrandera Leeton Griffith Greater Hume Murrumbidgee
Physical characteristics
Source	Peppercorn Hill
• location	Snowy Mountains, NSW
• coordinates	35°35′7″S 148°36′5″E / 35.58528°S 148.60139°E / -35.58528; 148.60139
• elevation	1,560 m (5,120 ft)
Mouth	confluence with Murray River
• location	near Boundary Bend, NSW/Vic
• coordinates	34°43′43″S 143°13′8″E / 34.72861°S 143.21889°E / -34.72861; 143.21889
• elevation	55 m (180 ft)
Length	1,485 km (923 mi)[2]
Basin size	84,917 km2 (32,787 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Wagga Wagga[3]
• average	120 m3/s (4,200 cu ft/s)[3]
Discharge
• location	Narrandera
• average	105 m3/s (3,700 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Balranald
• average	27 m3/s (950 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River system	Murray River, Murray-Darling basin
Tributaries
• left	Gudgenby River, Cotter River, Goodradigbee River, Tumut River
• right	Numeralla River, Bredbo River, Molonglo River, Yass River, Lachlan River
Reservoirs	Tantangara Reservoir, Lake Burrinjuck
[4][5]

The Murrumbidgee River (/mʌrəmˈbɪdʒi/^[6]) is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, descending 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) over 1,485 kilometres (923 mi),^[2] generally in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains towards its confluence with the Murray River near Boundary Bend.

The word Murrumbidgee or Marrambidya means "big water" in the Wiradjuri language, one of the local Australian Aboriginal languages.^[7][8][1][9] The river itself flows through several traditional Aboriginal Australian lands, home to various Aboriginal peoples. In the Australian Capital Territory, the river is bordered by a narrow strip of land on each side; these are managed as the Murrumbidgee River Corridor (MRC).^[10] This land includes many nature reserves, eight recreation reserves, a European heritage conservation zone and rural leases.