Mitchell River (Queensland)

Looking upriver to the small waterfalls between Oriners and Koulata

The Mitchell River is a river in the north of the Australian state of Queensland, in the region of Far North Queensland. The river name is derived from the Prussian explorer Ludwig Leichhardt.

Name

The Mitchell River named Ludwig Leichhardt on his first expedition Australia from 1844 to 1845 in June 1845 after the British Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, the Supreme surveyor of New South Wales.

Geography

River

The river rises in the Atherton Tablelands, 50 km north- west of Cairns and passes through the Cape York Peninsula of Mareeba to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The catchment area of the Mitchell River is 71,757 km ². It provides the largest amount of water of all rivers in Queensland, but it varies greatly, so that the river is part of the year even dry. The Lake Mitchell is the most important water reservoir on the river.

Tributaries with muzzle heights

  • Dora Creek - 362 m
  • Rifle Creek - 360 m
  • Charcoal Creek - 357 m
  • Mary Creek - 351 m
  • Pennyweight Creek - 340 m
  • McLeod River - 327 m
  • Wolstencroft Creek - 304 m
  • Hodgkinson River - 248 m
  • Watson Little Creek - 246 m
  • Thirsty Creek - 227 m
  • Big Creek Watson - 227 m
  • St. George River - 190 m
  • Dry River - 162 m
  • Running Creek - 161 m
  • Boomer Creek - 157 m
  • Pack Horse Creek - 153 m
  • Blackfellow Creek - 153 m
  • Emu Creek - 151 m
  • Camp Creek - 149 m
  • Little Mitchell River - 147 m
  • Rocky Creek - 131 m
  • Reid Creek - 122 m
  • Walsh River - 116 m
  • Brown Creek - 116 m
  • Sandy Creek - 110 m
  • Bull Creek - 98 m
  • Lynd River - 98 m
  • Lagoon Creek - 94 m
  • Palmer River - 63 m
  • Mosquito Creek - 58 m
  • Kilpatrick Creek - 39 m
  • Burrum Channel - 35 m
  • Alice River - 15 m
  • Mottle Creek - 15 m

Flushed lakes

  • Lake Mitchell - 375 m

History

The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt on his expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington on 16 June 1845 Sir Thomas Mitchell. Apparently, the Mitchell River was discovered in 1623 by the Dutch merchant and seafarer January Carstensz and named Vereenighde River.

Hydrology

The Mitchell River and its tributaries have dug long time their way westward through the rugged, weathered highlands of the Great Dividing Range and have sediments washed away, which have been deposited in the vast flood plains and wetlands of the Gulf Country.

The rivers " pulsing " every year with the monsoon rains and collect in the rainy season the water of the tropical rain forests of the highlands in the east, the moist deciduous forests of the central highlands, forests and savannas of several lights in the West. They flood the annual Watts, wetlands, estuaries and mangrove forests in the lower reaches of the Mitchell River and in the coastal plains with fresh water.

Fauna and Flora

The river system Mitchell River is home to one of Australia's most ecologically differentiated aquatic systems, which consists of both wet and dry monsoon from affected habitats.

The ecology of the catchment is generally described as follows ::

" The vegetation in the catchment area of ​​the Mitchell River varies from the protected as a World Heritage humid, tropical rain forests in the eastern highlands to the plains to the west and the plains of the lower reaches. The extensive mangrove forests and lagoon systems in the delta of the Mitchell River are recognized worldwide as unique. At the headwaters of springs and water holes provide for a year-round water supply .... "

Although the ecologically diverse river system is still largely unexplored, but you know at least 18 rare, endangered or sensitive species there, such as the Golden-shouldered parrot, Gouldian and the Northern Bettong ( Bettongia tropica ). The estuary is located in the Gulf Plains Important Bird Area.

Settlements

The most important (small ) cities in the catchment area of the Mitchell River are Kowanyama, Chillagoe, Duimbulah, Mount Carbine and Mount Molloy. Other settlements are Mutchilba and Almaden.

National Parks

The following national parks are located in the catchment area of ​​the Mitchell River:

  • Hann Tableland National Park
  • Mitchell - Alice Rivers National Park
  • Chillagoe - Mungana Caves National Park
  • A part of the Buller Inga National Park in the south
  • Most of the Forty Mile Scrub National Park
Southedge Dam Town Municipality Thomas Mitchell (explorer) Tropical rainforest Hann-Tableland-Nationalpark Chillagoe-Mungana-Caves-Nationalpark Bulleringa-Nationalpark Forty-Mile-Scrub-Nationalpark
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