the largest river in Australia. Length, 2,570 km (3,750 km from the source of the Darling River). Drains an area of 1.16 million sq km. The river rises on the western slopes of the Snowy Mountains in the Australian Alps and empties into Lake Alexandrina, a shallow bay that has been cut off from the Indian Ocean by a man-made bar to prevent salinization.
The Murray flows largely through an arid plain, which is the most important agricultural region of Australia. The main tributaries on the right are the Murrumbidgee and the Darling. The river is fed by snow and rain, and during the spring and summer (the rainy season) the water level rises greatly. In the dry season (winter) a majority of the tributaries dry up without reaching the main river, and the Murray becomes very shallow. The average annual rate of flow is 470 cu m per sec, and the average annual discharge is 14.8 cu km. Shallow-draft vessels can travel up the river as far as Albury. The presence of the bar at the mouth prevents steamship communication with the seaports.
The waters of the river are used for irrigation. Among the reservoirs located on the Murray and its tributaries are the Hume and Lake Victoria. Hydroelectric plants built in the basin of the Murray include the Hume on the Murray River (50 megawatts) and the Burrinjuck on the Murrumbidgee River (20 megawatts). There is fishing on the river and fish breeding in the reservoirs. Major hydroengineering construction is under way in the Snowy Mountains to shift the waters of the Snowy River and its tributaries across the Australian Alps into the Murray system for irrigation and for the construction of hydroelectric plants.