The Yarra River is a river in East-Central Victoria, Australia that flows through the city of Melbourne. This article contains explanations and lists of the river's tributaries and other geographic features. The river flows atop layers of silt that built up within an ancient river valley around 10,000-15,000 years ago.
The river's major tributaries are the Plenty River, Merri Creek, Darebin Creek, Diamond Creek, Gardiners Creek, Mullum Mullum Creek and the Moonee Ponds Creek. It hosts a wide range of geographic features including; bends, rapids, lakes, islands, floodplains, billabongs, wetlands, etc. Most features have been named after translated Woiwurrung phrases or have European, particularly British, origins.
The Yarra River has two other names "the upside down river" and "Birrarung". The Yarra was for say nicknamed the upside down river because of the way some of it looked. Birrarung was the first name that the Indigenous Australians gave it.
The Yarra River has about 50 named tributaries; 6 rivers, 42 creeks and 2 gullies. At its most easterly point, it is fed by many small unnamed creeks and streams that begin in the Yarra Ranges within the Yarra Ranges National Park, which are sometimes fed by snowfalls. Below is a list of its tributaries (from downstream to upstream):[1]
| Rivers of the Yarra River basin | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catchment river | Elevation at confluence | Coordinates[2] [3] | River length | |||||||
| Tributary | ||||||||||
| Tributary | ||||||||||
| Tributary | ||||||||||
| Tributary | ||||||||||
| Tributary | ||||||||||
| Tributary | ||||||||||
| Yarra River | 0m (00feet) | -37.8519°N 144.9083°W | 2420NaN0 | |||||||
| 0m (00feet) | Yarra | circa 50NaN0 | ||||||||
| Maribyrnong River | 1m (03feet) | Yarra | -37.7553°N 144.8492°W | 390NaN0 | ||||||
| Steele Creek | 5m (16feet) | Maribyrnong | 80NaN0 | |||||||
| Taylors Creek | 20m (70feet) | Maribyrnong | 130NaN0 | |||||||
| Jackson Creek | 42m (138feet) | Maribyrnong | 710NaN0 | |||||||
| Longview Creek | 270m (890feet) | Jackson | 80NaN0 | |||||||
| Riddells Creek | 296m (971feet) | Jackson | 150NaN0 | |||||||
| Deep Creek | 42m (138feet) | Maribyrnong | 1280NaN0 | |||||||
| Konagaderra Creek | 164m (538feet) | Deep | -37.4933°N 144.8408°W | 170NaN0 | ||||||
| Boyd Creek | 243m (797feet) | Deep | 120NaN0 | |||||||
| Lintons Creek | 277m (909feet) | Boyd | 110NaN0 | |||||||
| No 3 Creek | 313m (1,027feet) | Boyd | 130NaN0 | |||||||
| Emu Creek | 270m (890feet) | Deep | 80NaN0 | |||||||
| Bolinda (Emu) Creek | 282m (925feet) | Emu | 90NaN0 | |||||||
| Bolinda Creek | 340m (1,120feet) | Bolinda (Emu) | 90NaN0 | |||||||
| Sandy Creek | 380m (1,250feet) | Bolinda | 90NaN0 | |||||||
| 1m (03feet) | Yarra | -37.7608°N 144.9331°W | 310NaN0 | |||||||
| 12m (39feet) | Yarra | -37.8717°N 145.0897°W | 170NaN0 | |||||||
| 14m (46feet) | Yarra | -37.6669°N 144.9764°W | 690NaN0 | |||||||
| 18m (59feet) | Yarra | -37.6589°N 145.0356°W | 430NaN0 | |||||||
| Glass Creek | Yarra | |||||||||
| 16m (52feet) | Yarra | -37.7864°N 145.1044°W | 110NaN0 | |||||||
| Salt Creek | Yarra | -37.7408°N 145.0719°W | ||||||||
| Banyule Creek | Yarra | |||||||||
| Plenty River | 19m (62feet) | Yarra | -37.6128°N 145.1056°W | 470NaN0 | ||||||
| Barber Creek | 169m (554feet) | Plenty | 170NaN0 | |||||||
| Bruces Creek | 189m (620feet) | Plenty | 210NaN0 | |||||||
| Scrubby Creek | 197m (646feet) | Plenty | 110NaN0 | |||||||
| 17m (56feet) | Yarra | -37.7689°N 145.1394°W | 110NaN0 | |||||||
| Kestrel Creek | Yarra | |||||||||
| 30m (100feet) | Yarra | -37.6283°N 145.2106°W | 110NaN0 | |||||||
| 28m (92feet) | Yarra | -37.7736°N 145.1892°W | 110NaN0 | |||||||
| Stony Creek | Yarra | -37.7161°N 145.2083°W | ||||||||
| 17m (56feet) | Yarra | -37.7497°N 145.2106°W | 110NaN0 | |||||||
| Parson Gully | Yarra | |||||||||
| Jumping Creek | Yarra | -37.7617°N 145.2575°W | ||||||||
| Pigeon Bank Gully | Yarra | -37.7122°N 145.2406°W | ||||||||
| Watsons Creek | 47m (154feet) | Yarra | -37.6522°N 145.3006°W | 180NaN0 | ||||||
| Brushy Creek | 65m (213feet) | Yarra | -37.7614°N 145.2958°W | 90NaN0 | ||||||
| Yarra | -37.7658°N 145.3547°W | |||||||||
| Steels Creek | Yarra | -37.6208°N 145.3753°W | ||||||||
| Pauls Creek | 74m (243feet) | Yarra | -37.6406°N 145.4339°W | 150NaN0 | ||||||
| Watts River | 80m (260feet) | Yarra | -37.6247°N 145.6594°W | 290NaN0 | ||||||
| Meyers Creek | 92m (302feet) | Watts | -37.5889°N 145.5172°W | 9km (06miles) | ||||||
| Badger Creek | Yarra | -37.6872°N 145.5947°W | ||||||||
| Woori Yallock Creek | Yarra | -37.7311°N 145.4981°W | ||||||||
| Ure Creek | Yarra | -37.755°N 145.5472°W | ||||||||
| Yarra | -37.7931°N 145.5817°W | |||||||||
| Don River | Yarra | -37.7556°N 145.5869°W | ||||||||
| Little Yarra River | 108m (354feet) | Yarra | -37.8378°N 145.6794°W | 240NaN0 | ||||||
| Britannia Creek | 123m (404feet) | Little Yarra | -37.7964°N 145.6839°W | 11km (07miles) | ||||||
| Don Creek | Yarra | -37.7631°N 145.6058°W | ||||||||
| Platts Creek | Yarra | -37.7542°N 145.6208°W | ||||||||
| Frenchman Creek | Yarra | -37.7397°N 145.6281°W | ||||||||
| Yankee Jim Creek | Yarra | -37.7725°N 145.6558°W | ||||||||
| Dee River | Yarra | -37.7497°N 145.6447°W | ||||||||
| Scotchman Creek | Yarra | |||||||||
| Four Mile Creek | Yarra | -37.7675°N 145.7069°W | ||||||||
| Pheasant Creek | Yarra | -37.7586°N 145.7144°W | ||||||||
| Starling Creek | Yarra | -37.7656°N 145.7267°W | ||||||||
| Big Pats Creek | 171m (561feet) | Yarra | -37.8061°N 145.7517°W | 120NaN0 | ||||||
| Dead Horse Creek | Yarra | -37.7275°N 145.7586°W | ||||||||
| Cement Creek | Yarra | -37.7139°N 145.7419°W | ||||||||
| Braham Creek | Yarra | -37.7531°N 145.7922°W | ||||||||
| McDonald Creek | Yarra | -37.7497°N 145.7969°W | ||||||||
| Crooked Creek | Yarra | |||||||||
| Starvation Creek | 219m (719feet) | Yarra | -37.7608°N 145.8544°W | 140NaN0 | ||||||
| McMahons Creek | 252m (827feet) | Yarra | -37.7133°N 145.8667°W | 140NaN0 | ||||||
| Armstrong Creek | 275m (902feet) | Yarra | -37.6656°N 145.8494°W | 130NaN0 | ||||||
| Armstrong Creek East Branch | 352m (1,155feet) | Armstrong | -37.6253°N 145.8906°W | 80NaN0 | ||||||
| Alderman Creek | 357m (1,171feet) | Yarra | -37.7269°N 145.9458°W | 120NaN0 | ||||||
| Walsh Creek | 357m (1,171feet) | Yarra | -37.6078°N 145.9478°W | 190NaN0 | ||||||
| Clear Creek | 357m (1,171feet) | Walsh | -37.6708°N 145.9694°W | 120NaN0 | ||||||
| Baker Creek | 488m (1,601feet) | Yarra | -37.7606°N 145.8206°W | 70NaN0 | ||||||
| Woods Creek | 532m (1,745feet) | Yarra | -37.7172°N 146.1219°W | 110NaN0 | ||||||
| Mmbw Channel | 775m (2,543feet) | Yarra | 230NaN0 | |||||||
The Yarra River hosts a wide range of geographical features, perhaps the most plentiful of which are billabongs, of which there are over 100, particularly in the floodplains near Yering, Yarra Glen and Coldstream. Being a considerably thin river for almost its entire length, there are very few islands or lakes. In the middle reaches there are a few rapids of easy to moderate difficulty, however these are sparsely distributed. Below is a list of the river's geographical features, including tributaries (shown in bold) and man-made features or townships (shown in italics), for bearings (from downstream to upstream):[1]