The Kiewa River is a major tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

The river's headwaters include Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

's highest mountain, Mount Bogong

Mount Bogong

Mount Bogong , located in the Alpine National Park, is the highest mountain in Victoria, Australia. The Big River separates the massif of the mountain from the Bogong High Plains to the south. "Bogong" in the local Aboriginal language means bigfella...

, and wind their way north-west about 100 kilometres, gradually slowing before joining the Murray east of Albury

Albury, New South Wales

Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...

.

The river's flow is constrained at its headwaters by the presence of dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

s associated with the Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme

Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme

The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in Victoria and the second largest in mainland Australia after the Snowy Mountains Scheme...

, which traps waters flowing from the Bogong High Plains

Bogong High Plains

The Bogong High Plains are a section of the Alpine National Park in the Australian state of Victoria and are situated south of Mount Bogong. This area forms part of Australia's Great Dividing Range and in winter is one of the largest snow covered areas in the country. It can be easily accessed from...

. The McKay Creek and West Kiewa power stations are the major generating elements of the Scheme, which provides peak load to the Victorian electricity grid.

Two major tributaries, the East and West Kiewa Rivers, flow swiftly through near-pristine ash and peppermint forest, joining together at Mount Beauty. From here, the river travels more sedately through cleared farming country until it reaches its junction with the Murray.

The Kiewa Valley contains a number of small towns:

• Mount Beauty
  Mount Beauty, Victoria
  Mount Beauty is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Alpine Shire local government area.The town was originally established by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria to house construction workers from the Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme in 1949, passing to the control of the local shire...
  
  
• Tawonga
• Tangambalanga
  Tangambalanga, Victoria
  Tangambalanga , or Tangam for short, is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately south-east of the regional centre of Wodonga, in the Kiewa Valley, and from the Hume Weir...
  
  /Kiewa Township
• Yackandandah
  Yackandandah, Victoria
  Yackandandah is a small tourist town in northeast Victoria, Australia. It is near the regional cities of Wodonga and Albury, and is close to the tourist town of Beechworth. At the 2006 census, Yackandandah had a population of 663.- History :...