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Tasmania Island Fire, Commonwealth Of Australia, South Pacific Ocean
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The Derwent River flows south and reaches the coast at Hobart; the Tamar River flows north from Launceston; the Mersey River also flows north to the North West coast at Devonport, and the Franklin and Gordon Rivers flow west and meet the coast at Strahan. The South Esk River is the longest river in Tasmania. It starts in the mountains at Fingal and flows through Avoca, Evandale, Longford, Hadspen and finally Launceston. The river is dammed at Launceston's Trevallyn Dam and used for the city's hydroelectricity. Although most of the water is dammed at Lake Trevallyn, some flows on into the Cataract Gorge, where it becomes a tributary to the Tamar Estuary, and the outflow from the power station also joins the Tamar River downstream of Launceston.
Climate
Tasmania has a cool temperate climate with four distinct seasons. Summer lasts from December to February when the average maximum sea temperature is 21 °C (70 °F) and inland areas around Launceston reach 24 °C (75 °F). Other inland areas are much cooler, with Liawenee, located on the Central Plateau, one of the coldest places in Australia, ranging between 4 °C (39 °F) and 17 °C (63 °F) in February. Autumn lasts between March and May and experiences changeable weather, when summer weather patterns gradually take on the shape of winter patterns.
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