Latrobe Valley
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| Regions of Gippsland |
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| East West South Central Latrobe Valley |
The Latrobe Valley is nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges and the Great Dividing Range in Victoria, Australia. It is named after the Latrobe River which flows, eastwards, through it.
Consisting of several cities, towns and farming communities, it is most famous for its abundant resources of brown coal, which are mined and fed to the local power stations that produce 85% of the electricity for the entire state of Victoria. There are extensive dairy farms, cattle farms and potato farms, most notably the local Thorpdale region that exports potatoes to the entire nation of Australia and overseas.
While the Latrobe River flows into Lake Wellington to the east of Sale and includes in its drainage basin a significant part of central Gippsland, the region conventionally known as the Latrobe Valley occupies a smaller area centred on the three major towns of Moe, Morwell and Traralgon, between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the westernmost reaches of the Australian Alps to the north. The valley is moderately fertile with a damp climate. The region is the most densely settled part of Gippsland owing to the vast deposits of brown coal, which have given rise to a major electricity industry supplying most of Victoria's electricity needs. Each of the Latrobe Valley's three main towns boasts about 20,000 people, while the smaller town of Churchill to the south hosts a campus of Monash University.
Logging is also an important industry in the hills to the north and south, with a major paper mill located at Maryvale, near Morwell. In the rugged north of the region is located the historic gold-mining town of Walhalla, amid mountains forming the west of Alpine National Park and nearby Baw Baw National Park, a minor winter ski resort.
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[edit] Climate
It has a maritime climate meaning mild temperatures with large amounts of rain, the occasional frost and snow on neighbouring hills. The Latrobe Valley’s warmest month is February with an average temperature range of 12.5°C to 26.4°C and the coldest month is July with an average temperature range of 3.6°C to 13.5°C. The most rain occurs in late winter and spring, and average yearly rainfall is approximately 800mm.
[edit] Settlement
Major cities include Traralgon, Morwell and Moe. Smaller towns are Tyers, Newborough, Yallourn North, Yinnar, Erica and Thorpdale. (The original Yallourn being relocated due to the open cut coal mine), Churchill (site of the local campus of Monash University) and Boolarra. All the major towns are served by Rotary clubs, Rotary club of Morwell, Rotary club of Moe, Hazelwood Rotary Club (Churchill), and Traralgon and Traralgon central rotary clubs.
The main city of the Latrobe City Council is Traralgon, however recently council offices have been moved to Commercial Rd, Morwell, and the main hospital is an amalgamation of three local hospitals (Moe, Morwell and Traralgon), and is located on the Princes Highway between Morwell and Traralgon.
The population is approximately 67,000 people and it consists of some major industries. Key industry sectors include power generation (The Latrobe Valley provides 85% of Victoria’s electricity)[citation needed], agriculture and dairy, timber industry, IT, engineering (has a substantial engineering sector that supports power generation, pulp and paper production and food processing industries) and their tertiary education sector attracts local, interstate and international students.
[edit] Power Stations
Power plants located in the Latrobe Valley include Hazelwood Power Station, Loy Yang Power Station, Yallourn Power Station and the Energy Brix Power Station.
[edit] See also
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