Flinders River

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Flinders
River
Flooding of the Flinders River at Hughenden, January 1917
Country Australia
State Queensland
Region Gulf Country
Tributaries
 - left Cloncurry River, Corella River
Source
 - location Reedy Springs
Length 1,004 km (624 mi)
Basin 109,000 km2 (42,085 sq mi)

The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia at about 1,004 kilometres (624 mi). The river rises in the Burra Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, 110 km northeast of Hughenden and flows in a westerly direction past Hughenden, Richmond and Julia Creek then northwest to the Gulf of Carpentaria 25 km west of Karumba, Queensland. The south of the catchment is bordered by the Selwyn Range.

At 1,004 km in length it is the sixth longest river in Australia.[1] The catchment covers 109,000 km².[2] The primary land use in the catchment is grazing.[3]

The principal tributaries are the Cloncurry River and the Corella River.[2] Another major tributary of the Flinders River is Porcupine Creek. The creek has carved out a dramatic gorge which is located in the Porcupine Gorge National Park.[4] There are two dams on the river - the Flinders River Dam and Corella Dam.[3]

A large, flat claypain is located in the area where the Flinders, Gregory and Leichhardt Rivers enter the Gulf. The mouth of the river lies in the Gulf Plains Important Bird Area.[5]

The Flinders was named after the explorer Matthew Flinders by John Lort Stokes of the HMS Beagle in 1841.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Longest Rivers". Geoscience Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Flood Warning System For The Flinders River". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Water resources - Overview - Queensland: Flinders River". Australian Natural Resources Atlas. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 
  4. ↑ Shilton, Peter (2005). Natural Areas of Queensland. Mount Gravatt, Queensland: Goldpress. p. 256. ISBN 0-9758275-0-2. 
  5. ↑ BirdLife International (2011) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Gulf Plains. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 01/07/2011

External links

Media related to Flinders River at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 17°36′S 140°36′E / 17.600°S 140.600°E / -17.600; 140.600

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