Maranoa River

Last updated

Maranoa
Mitchell Maranoa River DSC03260.JPG
Downstream of the Maranoa River at Mitchell
Australia Queensland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of the Maranoa River mouth
in Queensland
Location
Country Australia
State Queensland
Region South West Queensland
Physical characteristics
SourceConsuelo Tableland
Source confluenceEast and West branches of the Maranoa River
  location Carnarvon National Park
  coordinates 25°17′20″S147°46′02″E / 25.28889°S 147.76722°E / -25.28889; 147.76722
  elevation574 m (1,883 ft)
Mouth confluence with the Balonne River
  location
Lake Kajarabie
  coordinates
27°50′11″S148°36′57″E / 27.83639°S 148.61583°E / -27.83639; 148.61583
  elevation
207 m (679 ft)
Length519 km (322 mi)
Basin size20,039 km2 (7,737 sq mi)
Basin features
River system Darling River catchment,
Murray–Darling basin
Tributaries 
  left Merivale River
National park Carnarvon National Park
[1] [2]

The Maranoa River, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is a river situated in South West Queensland, Australia. [3]

Contents

Course and features

Formed by the confluence of the west and east branches of the river, the Maranoa River rises on the Consuelo Tableland in the Carnarvon National Park. The valleys in the river's catchment area are broad rather than gorge-like as in the nearby Carnarvon Gorge, with isolated bluffs and pillars of sandstone on sandy plains. [4] The Maranoa passes through Mitchell and flows south towards St George. The river reaches its confluence with the Balonne River north of St George. The Balonne eventually flows into the Darling River (via a few branches), so it contributes to the Murray-Darling Basin. From source to mouth, the Maranoa is joined by 31 tributaries including the Merivale River and descends 366 metres (1,201 ft) over its 519-kilometre (322 mi) course. [1]

The Warrego Highway crosses the river at Mitchell.

History

The river's name was recorded by explorer Thomas Mitchell on 13 May 1846 in his Journal of an expedition into the interior of tropical Australia. The name derives from two conversations between Mitchell and local Indigenous people. [5] The name might be corruption of the Mandandanji words mara meaning duck , and ngoa meaning egg . [3]

The Neil Turner Weir was built on the river in 1984. It provides limited supplies for irrigation purposes. [6] It also regulates streamflow and has recreational uses.

Major flooding on the river occurred in 1990. [7]

A number of Australian folksongs (such as Sandy Maranoa and The Maranoa Drovers) refer to this river.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnarvon National Park</span> Protected area in Queensland, Australia

Carnarvon National Park is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in the Maranoa Region in Central Queensland, Australia. The park is 593 km northwest of Brisbane. It began life as a 26,304-hectare (65,000-acre) reserve gazetted in 1932 to protect Carnarvon Gorge for its outstanding scenic values, its Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural heritage, and its geological significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darling River</span> Major river in Australia

The Darling River is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring 1,472 kilometres (915 mi) from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is 2,844 km (1,767 mi) long, making it the longest river system in Australia. The Darling River is the outback's most famous waterway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Mitchell (explorer)</span> Scottish surveyor and explorer of south-eastern Australia (1792-1855)

Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, often called Major Mitchell, was a Scottish surveyor and explorer of Southeastern Australia. He was born in Scotland and served in the British Army during the Peninsular War. In 1827 he took up an appointment as Assistant Surveyor General of New South Wales. The following year he became Surveyor General and remained in this position until his death. Mitchell was knighted in 1839 for his contribution to the surveying of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Condamine River</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 kilometres (310 mi) long and rises on Mount Superbus, South East Queensland's highest peak, on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the east coast of Queensland, and then flows north west across the Darling Downs, then west. The Condamine River is a tributary of the Darling River.

The Culgoa River is a river that is part of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin and is located in South West Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balonne River</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Balonne River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin system, is a short yet significant part of the inland river group of South West Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barwon River (New South Wales)</span> River in New South Wales, Australia

Barwon River, a perennial river that is part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the north-west slopes and Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrego River</span> River in Australia

The Warrego River is an intermittent river that is part of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, which is located in South West Queensland and in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The Warrego River is the northernmost tributary of the Darling River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dawson River (Queensland)</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Dawson River is a river in Central Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bungil Creek</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Bungil Creek, part of the Balonne catchment within the Murray-Darling basin, is a perennial stream in South West Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maranoa, Queensland</span> Region in Queensland, Australia

The Maranoa is the name given to an area of southern Queensland, about 500 kilometres (kms) west of Brisbane. Some refer to the Maranoa as the Western Downs. The Maranoa is an eastern part of the larger, mostly arid South West region of Queensland. To the east is the agricultural region of the Darling Downs and in the west is the dry Channel Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonie River</span> River in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia

The Moonie River (Mooni River) is a river in Shire of Balonne, Queensland and Walgett Shire, New South Wales, both in Australia. It is a perennial river of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin.

The Merivale River, part of the Darling catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is a river in South West Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nogoa River</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Nogoa River is a river in Central Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigalow Belt</span> Ecoregion in Queensland, Australia

The Brigalow Belt is a wide band of acacia-wooded grassland that runs between tropical rainforest of the coast and the semi-arid interior of Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) divides the Brigalow Belt into two IBRA regions, or bioregions, Brigalow Belt North (BBN) and Brigalow Belt South (BBS). The North and South Brigalow Belt are two of the 85 bioregions across Australia and the 15 bioregions in Queensland. Together they form most of the Brigalow tropical savanna ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnarvon Range</span> Mountain range in Queensland, Australia

The Carnarvon Range is a mountain range in Central Queensland, Australia. It is a plateau section of the Great Dividing Range. The Carnarvon Range is 160 km in length.

The Bokhara River, a watercourse that is part of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the South Downs region of Queensland, flowing downstream into the north–western slopes of New South Wales, Australia. It flows through the lower Balonne floodplain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nive River (Queensland)</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Nive River is a river that is part of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the south west region of Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narran Wetlands</span> Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

The Narran Wetlands, also known as the Narran Lakes, contained within the Narran Lake Nature Reserve, comprise a series of protected ephemeral lakes and swamps fed by the Narran River in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. The 26,480-hectare (65,400-acre) reserve is located approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Brewarrina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South West Queensland</span> Region in Queensland, Australia

South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers 319,808 km2 (123,479 sq mi). The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa district and parts of the Channel Country. The area is noted for its cattle grazing, cotton farming, opal mining and oil and gas deposits.

References

  1. 1 2 "Map of Maranoa River". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  2. "Water resources: Overview - Queensland". Australian Natural Resources Atlas. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Maranoa River – river in the Shire of Balonne (entry 20891)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  4. "Mount Moffatt, Carnarvon National Park - Nature, culture and history". Department of Environment and Resource Management. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  5. Mitchell, Thomas Livingstone (1848). Journal of an expedition into the interior of tropical Australia : in search of a route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria. London, UK: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. pp. 162, 371–2. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  6. "Maranoa River". SunWater. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  7. "Flood Warning System For The Condamine-Balonne River Below Cotswold". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.