Which river was dammed to create Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra?

The river dammed to create Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra was the Molonglo River.

The lake was formed when Scrivener Dam closed across the Molonglo in September 1963. The river had long flowed through the floodplain at the centre of Canberra, the site selected for the capital’s planned ornamental lake. The lake was a central feature of architect Walter Burley Griffin’s 1912 design, although construction was delayed for decades by political disputes, economic pressures and war.

The Molonglo continues to flow into and out of the lake, so Lake Burley Griffin is not a separate, closed reservoir. It is also distinct from the nearby Murrumbidgee River: the Molonglo eventually joins the Murrumbidgee downstream. Scrivener Dam, named after surveyor Charles Scrivener, regulates the lake’s water level and protects Canberra’s central lake basin from flooding.