King River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Australia |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Durack Range |
• elevation | 387 metres (1,270 ft) [1] |
Mouth | |
• location | Cambridge Gulf |
• elevation | sea level |
Length | 132 kilometres (82 mi) |
The King River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The headwaters of the river rise between the Durack Range and the Saw Range. It flows southwards before turning north and continuing until it discharges into the West Arm of the Cambridge Gulf just South of Wyndham.
The river was named in 1884 during hydrographic surveys by Staff Commander James Coghlan after Captain Phillip Parker King who was the first European to chart the river mouth in 1818. [2]
The river flooded in 2005 following heavy rainfall when Cyclone Ingrid crossed the coast in the area. At Diggers Rest Station near Wyndham fences and livestock were swept away. [3]
The Indigenous Australian name for the river is Goolime and traditional owners of the areas around the river are the Ngarinjin, for the area around its headwaters. [4]
The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on the east by the Northern Territory.
The Ord River is a 651-kilometre long (405 mi) river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers 55,100 square kilometres (21,274 sq mi).
The Gibb River Road is a road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Fitzroy River is located in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. It has 20 tributaries and its catchment occupies an area of 93,829 square kilometres (36,228 sq mi), within the Canning Basin and the Timor Sea drainage division.
Wyndham is the northernmost town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, located on the Great Northern Highway, 2,210 kilometres (1,373 mi) northeast of Perth. It was established in 1886 to service a new goldfield at Halls Creek, and it is now a port and service centre for the east Kimberley with a population of 780. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 54% of the population. Wyndham comprises two areas - the original town site at Wyndham Port situated on Cambridge Gulf, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) by road to the south, the Three Mile area with the residential and shopping area for the port, also founded in 1886. Wyndham is part of the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley.
The Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley is one of the four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of 117,514 square kilometres (45,372 sq mi) at Western Australia's northeastern corner. The Shire's seat of government was originally in Wyndham but now in the town of Kununurra, which is home to over half of the Shire's permanent population of around 7,000, while a council office is located at Wyndham.
Cambridge Gulf is a gulf on the north coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Many rivers flow into the gulf, including the Ord River, Pentecost River, Durack River, King River and the Forrest River, making the environment an estuarine one.
The Gibb River is a river in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia.
The Margaret River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Chamberlain River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The King George River is a perennial river located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Prince Regent River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Wilson River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Ord River floodplain is the floodplain of the lower Ord River in the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. It lies within the Victoria Bonaparte IBRA bioregion and contains river, seasonal creek, tidal mudflat and floodplain wetlands, with extensive stands of mangroves, that support saltwater crocodiles and many waterbirds. It is recognised as an internationally important wetland area, with 1,384 km2 of it designated on 7 June 1990 as Ramsar Site 477 under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
The Behn River or Behm River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Argyle Downs is a pastoral lease and cattle station located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) south east of Kununurra in the Kimberley region near the border of Western Australia and Northern Territory. It is operated by the Consolidated Pastoral Company.
The Wyndham Important Bird Area comprises a 28 km2 tract of land in the north-east of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The site lies in the Bastion Hills close to the town of Wyndham, a port on the West Arm of the Cambridge Gulf. It is an important site for Gouldian finches.
Carlton Hill Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Situated approximately 39 kilometres (24 mi) to the north-west of Kununurra and 44 kilometres (27 mi) east of Wyndham, the station covers an area of 3,675 square kilometres (1,419 sq mi).
Bow River Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia.
The Ngarinyin or Ngarinjin are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Their language, Ngarinyin, is also known as Ungarinyin. When referring to their traditional lands, they refer to themselves as Wilinggin people.
Media related to King River (Kimberley, Western Australia) at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 15°29′37″S128°4′12″E / 15.49361°S 128.07000°E