Thomson River (Queensland)

Map of the Lake Eyre Basin showing the Thomson River

Flood on the Thomson River at Jundah 1950

The Thomson River is a periodic water-bearing river in the center of the Australian state of Queensland. He belongs to the Cooper Creek River system and forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin.

Geography

River

The river arises in Muttaburra in the Alma range from the Landsborough Creek and Tower Hill Creek and flows to the southwest. The farthest from the mouth of the River Thomson River is the source Torrens Creek, which flows into the Cornish Creek. This in turn opens into the Landsborough Creek.

To the west of Longreach Thomson River the Landsborough Highway crosses. He continues to flow in a south-westerly direction through the small towns, Stonehenge and Jundah before it flows north of Windorah in the Barcoo River, which thereby becomes the Cooper Creek.

The river system is only temporary continuous water leading to the evaporite of Lake Eyre Salt Lake. Most of the time is the "river " is made of a chain of waterholes ( billabongs ). In flat terrain, there is often not a defined river bed, but a number of parallel channels which can be miles apart ( Channel Country ). Only in extreme rainfall, mostly in the period of the summer monsoon in the area of the upper basin, water flows into Lake Eyre.

Almost its entire length accompanies the Thomson Developmental Road ( N79 ) the river.

Tributaries with muzzle heights

  • Tower Hill Creek - 212 m
  • Landsborough Creek - 212 m
  • Fifteen Mile Creek - 202 m
  • Bradley Creek - 200 m
  • Twenty Mile Creek -200 m
  • Yarraman Creek - 197 m
  • Aramac Creek - 194 m
  • Cassidy Creek - 193 m
  • Lloyds Creek - 189 m
  • Stuart Creek - 188 m
  • Brutus Creek - 187 m
  • Little Gin Creek - 182 m
  • Well shot Creek - 180 m
  • Dingo Creek - 180 m
  • Boundary Creek - 179 m
  • Anderson Creek - 179 m
  • Ernestina Creek - 179 m
  • Three Mile Creek - 175 m
  • Darr River - 175 m
  • Four Mile Creek - 172 m
  • Katherine Creek - 171 m
  • Horse Shoe Creek - 170 m
  • Dry Creek - 167 m
  • Tocal Creek - 167 m
  • Splitters Creek - 166 m
  • Acheron Creek - 165 m
  • Six Mile Creek - 162 m
  • Moonda Creek - 156 m
  • Woolshed Creek - 156 m
  • Scotts Creek - 155 m
  • Vergemont Creek - 155 m
  • Emu Creek - 153 m
  • Warbreccan Creek - 152 m
  • Six Mile Creek - 150 m
  • Deadman Creek - 150 m
  • Deep Creek - 149 m
  • Grassy Creek - 146 m
  • Bostock Creek - 145 m
  • Wuringle Creek - 141 m
  • Stewards Creek - 138 m

Flushed lakes

The Thomson River flows through some water holes that are then partially filled with water when the river is dry.

  • Yarraman Waterhole - 197 m
  • Longreach Waterhole - 185 m
  • Rio Waterhole - 180 m
  • Dinah Waterhole - 151 m
  • Mahoney Waterhole - 150 m
  • Goongoon Waterhole - 148 m
  • Mail Change Waterhole - 148 m
  • Flaggy Waterhole - 148 m
  • Carella Waterhole - 147 m
  • Wooley Lagoon - 147 m
  • Twenty Mile Waterhole - 136 m
  • Fifteen Mile Waterhole - 135 m
  • Twelve Mile Waterhole - 132 m

Geology

The area with black soil, through which the river flows, is semi-arid. In this land of sheep and cattle breeding.

Origin of the name

The river has been named by explorer Edmund Kennedy in the 1840s.

Longreach, Queensland Municipality Department of the Environment (Australia)
773935
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