Cloncurry River

Cloncurry
River
Country Australia
State Queensland
Region Gulf Country
Source Mount Tracey
 - location Selwyn Range, Gulf Country, Australia
 - elevation 383 m (1,257 ft)
Mouth
 - location Flinders River, Australia
 - elevation 30 m (98 ft)
 - coordinates 18°36′30″S 140°39′52″E / 18.60833°S 140.66444°E / -18.60833; 140.66444Coordinates: 18°36′30″S 140°39′52″E / 18.60833°S 140.66444°E / -18.60833; 140.66444
Length 900 km (559 mi)
Basin 47,344 km2 (18,280 sq mi)
Location of Cloncurry river mouth in Queensland
[1]

The Cloncurry River is situated in the Gulf Country of north west Queensland, Australia.[2]

Geography

The headwaters of the river rise west of Mount Boorama near Mount Tracey in the Selwyn Range and initially flows north west then turns north travelling more or less parallel with the Cloncurry-Dajarra road before crossing the Flinders Highway near the town of Cloncurry. The river continues north westward flowing under Mount Marathon past Fort Constantine and crossing the Wills Development Road. Continuing northward the river is a series of braided channel running parallel with the Burke Developmental Road across the mostly uninhabited plains with many tributaries entering then across Simpson Plain before discharging into the Flinders River of which it is a tributary near Wondoola.[1]

The riverbed is composed of Silt with clay and sand, sand and gravel and gravel with cobble.[3]

The river has a length of about 900 kilometres (560 mi) and has a drainage basin of about 47,344 square kilometres (18,280 sq mi).[4]

The watershed south of the town of Cloncurry occupies an area of 5,975 square kilometres (2,307 sq mi).[5]

History

The river was named by the explorer Robert O'Hara Burke on New Years Day 1861 during his disastrous expedition after a friend from Ireland, Lady Cloncurry.[2]

A gauging station was installed at Cloncurry to measure flow rates and river heights in 1969.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Map of Cloncurry River, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas. Digital Atlas Pty Limited. 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Cloncurry River (entry 7473)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Alisha Steward; et al. "Terrestrial invertebrates of dry river beds are not simply subsets of riparian assemblages" (PDF). Griffith University. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Cloncurry River drainage sub-basin — facts and maps, WetlandInfo". Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland. 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 Catherine Leigh and Fran Sheldon. "Hydrological changes and ecological impacts associated with water resource development in large floodplain rivers in the Australian tropics." (PDF). Griffith University. Retrieved 31 May 2015.


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