Georgina River

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georgina River
Georgina River in the Lake Eyre basin

Georgina River in the Lake Eyre basin

Data
location Northern Territory / Queensland ( Australia )
River system Warburton River
Drain over Eyre Creek  → Warburton River  → Lake Eyre
source Barkly Tableland
19 ° 41 ′ 23 ″  S , 138 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  E
Source height 241  m
crossing Eyre Creek near Breadalbane (south of Boulia ) Coordinates: 24 ° 9 '44 "  S , 139 ° 48' 51"  E 24 ° 9 '44 "  S , 139 ° 48' 51"  E
Mouth height 107  m
Height difference 134 m
Bottom slope 0.12 ‰
length 1130 km
Catchment area 232,000 km²
Drain MQ
HHQ 		22 m³ / s
200 m³ / s
Left tributaries Elizabeth Creek, Pring Creek, Emu Creek, Harvey Creek, Chester Creek, Nowranie Creek, Buckley River , Happy Creek, Shakespeare Creek, Gidyea Creek, Templeton River , Sandy Creek, Fifteen Mile Creek, Seventeen Mile Creek, Mindyalla Creek, Sandy Creek, Boundary Creek, Cottonbush Creek, Burke River , Hamilton River
Right tributaries Herbert River , Scrubby Creek, Barwidgee Creek, Red Creek, Wonga Creek, Ruby Creek, Caroline Creek, Ranken River , Bybby Creek, Bull Creek, Woodroffe River , Racecourse Creek, Bannockburn Creek, Manner Creek, Horse Creek, Billy Creek, Pigeon Creek , Pituri Creek
Flowing lakes 26 water holes and lakes
Medium-sized cities Camooweal
Small towns Urandangi
Communities Rocklands, Austral Downs, Lake Nash, Headingly, Walgra, Carandotta, Linda Downs, Roxborough Downs, Herbert Downs, Marion Downs

The Georgina River is a river in the east of the Australian Northern Territory and in the west of the state of Queensland . Along with the Diamantina River and Cooper Creek, it is the northwesternmost of the three great rivers of the Channel Country . Only in particularly wet years does its water reach Lake Eyre .

geography

River course

The river arises on the eastern edge of the Barkly Tableland on the border between Northern Territory and Queensland, around 30 kilometers northwest of Camooweal from the Herbert River and flows in an arc to the south through the city and west of the Camooweal Caves National Park back into the Northern Territory . From the mouth of the Ranken River it turns to the southeast and again crosses the border into Queensland. There it continues to flow to the southeast, crosses under the Donohue Highway and follows it almost to the capital of this basin, Boulia . South of the city, at Breadalbane on Diamantina Developmental Road , the Georgina River merges into Eyre Creek .

Tributaries with mouth heights

Flowing lakes

The Georgina River flows through a number of water holes and lakes, which are usually filled with water even when the river itself is dry:

  • Keribobla Waterhole - 239 m
  • Grassmere Waterhole - 234 m
  • Lake Francis - 225 m
  • Lake Canellan - 225 m
  • Walbo Waterhole - 163 m
  • Waukaba Waterhole - 162 m
  • Bakers Lagoon - 161 m
  • Tickita Waterhole - 157 m
  • Lemo Waterhole - 156 m
  • Lake Katherine - 152 m
  • Weaner Waterhole - 150 m
  • Sandy Waterhole - 148 m
  • Muire Waterhole - 146 m
  • Dip Waterhole - 146 m
  • Yanko Waterhole - 145 m
  • Budda Budda Waterhole - 144 m
  • Rabbit Waterhole - 143 m
  • Longreach Waterhole - 142 m
  • Aldeys Waterhole - 142 m
  • Midgingar Waterhole - 141 m
  • Basin Waterhole - 140 m
  • OK Waterhole - 137 m
  • Charles Waterhole - 135 m
  • Paravituari Waterhole - 125 m
  • Wilberderry Waterhole - 114 m
  • Hamilton Waterhole - 107 m

Hydrology

The catchment area of ​​the Georgina River covers around 232,000 km², roughly comparable to the size of the state of Victoria . Because of the arid nature of the basin, the average water runoff is only about 0.7 km³ / year. There are such strong fluctuations in runoff that - although water flow measurements cannot provide sufficient information - meteorological records leave no doubt that there are many Years without any drainage from the entire basin (1905, 1928 and 1961 undoubtedly fall into this category, as well as presumably some others if there were enough data), while in particularly wet years, such as 1974, 1977 and 2000, the water drainage up can amount to 6.28 km³ / year and more.

Although the Georgina River is considered the driest of the Channel Country’s three major rivers, its waters reached Lake Eyre more frequently than that of the Diamantina River or Cooper Creek. Some pebble terraces piled up by waves suggest that Lake Eyre was permanently filled with water during the Medieval Warm Period (800-1000 AD). The significant increase in rainfall in the Northern Territory and on the pasture areas in South Australia and Western Australia since the late 1960s could not be determined in Queensland, and so one must assume that an increased greenhouse effect in the Medieval Warm Period led to the Georgina River regularly fed Lake Eyre. However, there is too little evidence to support this assumption.

National nature

A small part of the wild Macdonnell Ranges is also part of the Georgina River basin, but most of this basin is as shallow as that of the Diamantina River, even though there are low mountain ranges in the northwest. In the western part of the basin, the soil is too barren to support food for cattle and sheep, and much of this area is an Aboriginal reserve . The eastern part of the basin around Boulia is very similar to the basins of the Diamantina River and Cooper Creek. They are grassy plains, the soils of which are clay and are quite fertile. They provide good fodder in wet years.

climate

The climate in the Georgina Basin is usually a little drier than that in the Diamantina Basin or the Cooper Creek Basin. Average annual rainfall varies between about 400mm north of Camooweal and 225mm in Bedourie . In very dry years only about 100 mm / year fall, while in 1974, 1977 and 2000 many areas recorded over 800 mm / year and in some even up to 1,000 mm / year.

Almost all of the rain falls in summer and between May and September there is often almost no measurable rainfall. In very wet summer months, like January 1974 or March 1950, the catchment area can get up to 350mm / month or even 150mm in a day or two.

It is usually very hot; the maximum daily temperatures in most areas are over 30 ° C for over 225 days / year. Frost is rare, but has occasionally been recorded in all areas of the basin, even if the maximum daily temperatures are around 25 ° C even in June and July.

Floods

In strong floods, the Georgina River can reach a width of 15–20 km on the upper reaches. In these cases, the river width at the lower reaches is 25–30 km. The floods can last for months, which can disrupt road and rail links. The highest tide was recorded in January 1974.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Map of Georgina River (241 m - 123 m) Bonzle.com
  2. ↑ a b c Map of Georgina River, QLD (124 m - 107 m) Bonzle.com
  3. ↑ a b The Diamantina River , Floods of Lake Eyre, English
  4. ^ A b c John Alexander Henstridge Brown: Australia's Surface Water Resources . Australian Government Publication Services, Canberra 1983, ISBN 0-644-02617-0 .
  5. ^ Robert J. Allen: The Australasian Summer Monsoon, Teleconnections, and Flooding in the Lake Eyre Basin. Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. SA Branch, Adelaide 1985, ISBN 0-909112-09-6 .
  6. ↑ Jacqui Willcocks, Phillip Young: Queensland's Rainfall History: Graphs of Rainfall Averages, 1880–1988 . Department of Primary Industries. Government of Queensland. Brisbane 1991, ISBN 0-7242-3913-8 .
  7. ^ A b Flood Warning System For The Georgina River & Eyre Creek . Bureau of Meteorology (Australia). Retrieved September 2, 2009.