The longest rivers in Australia. Freshwater reservoirs of Australia The largest river in Australia name

Rivers of Australia

Looking at the map of Australia, we will see that many rivers are shown in dotted lines. This betrays their ephemeral nature. Most of them fully function only after heavy rains. But in the northeast there are rivers comparable to the largest in the world. All of them are part of the unified Murray-Darling system.

The Great Dividing Range stretching along the southeastern coast forms two types of rivers. Those flowing to the east flow into the sea. Those that gather in the western part form the Murray-Darling system. In the sources of the rivers of the eastern slope there are cold turbulent waters, like those near the mountain streams of the Alps. The river system of the western part is peculiar, typically Australian. The rivers here are wide, slow, silted. Water level fluctuations are exceptionally sharp.

The Murray-Darling river system is extremely large, even by world standards. Its role in the life of the continent is exceptionally significant. Australia's main river is the Murray. Together with the Murrumbidgee, Darling and Goulburn tributaries, it drains a fairly large area. The upper reaches of the tributaries are 200 km away from the eastern coast and, merging, form the main rivers, which flow in winding channels to the sea. The Murray originates in the Snowy Mountains and flows into the Encounter (a bay in South Australia).

Its length is 2575 km. The lower 970 km are accessible for the passage of small boats. Marine vessels cannot enter due to sandbanks blocking the mouth of the river. The length of Murrumbidgee is 1690 km. The tributary originates in the Kuma region. The flow of Murrumbidgee and Murray is regulated by the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric system. The length of the Darling River is 2740 km. It flows into the Murray. Its tributaries drain the western slopes of the mountains in northern New South Wales and parts of southeast Queensland.

Dams regulate the flow of rivers almost constantly. The exception is particularly dry periods. Slightly more than half of the territory of the mainland belongs to the internal basins of the runoff or has a disconnected runoff. The streams on the Western Plateau function intermittently, for a rather short time. They end either in temporary lakes or in swamps. Much of Queensland belongs to the Lake Eyre basin. This is one of the largest internal runoff basins in the world. Here the most significant rivers are Cooper Creek, Georgina, Diamantina.

They are characterized by extremely small slopes and represent a kind of labyrinths of intertwining, usually completely dry channels. After heavy rains, they spread in breadth for many kilometers. River waters rarely reach Lake Eyre. For the first time since the colonization of Australia, the basin of the lake was filled only in 1950.

The use of rivers is associated with significant difficulties precisely because of the extreme variability of the flow. In the hinterland, sites suitable for the construction of dams are rare. At the same time, large reservoirs are needed for stable water supply. The loss of water by evaporation is very significant. True, in Tasmania, the flow is relatively constant in all seasons.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of a large river system for an arid continent. A very impressive landmass (7,636,000 sq. km) receives approximately 41 cm of precipitation per year. A significant part of them is lost due to evaporation. All rivers in Australia carry less than 9 cm of precipitation. Half of this amount is accounted for by the Murray-Darling system. It is not surprising that the basins of these huge rivers are rich not only in settlements, but also in unique forms of aquatic life that formed in the specific conditions of this ancient continent.

List of rivers of Australia In alphabet order.

• Adelaide
• Albert
• Ashburton
• barku
• barron
• Barwon (New South Wales)
• Barwon (Victoria)
• Berdekin
• Burnett
• Blackwood
• Brisbane
• Victoria
• gascoigne
• diamantina
• Denmark
• Derwent
• jardine
• Dawson
• Catherine
• Cataract
• Castlereagh
• Clyde
• Clarence
• Condamine
• Cooper Creek
• lane cove
• Macquarie
• murrumbidgee
• Lachlan
• Murchison
• Murray
• darling
• Murchison
• Manning
• South Alligator River
• severn
• severn
• snowy river
• Thomson (Qld)
• Thomson (Vic)
• torrens
• Wilson
• Williams
• Fitzroy (Queensland)
• Fitzroy (Western Australia)
• flinders
• Fortescue
• Franklin
• hunter
• abercrombie
• Avon (Western Australia)
• Avon (Western Victoria)
• Avon (Eastern Victoria)

If you look at Australia from a bird's eye view, you can clearly see how the entire mainland is cut by riverbeds. Most of the waterways are shallow or completely dry. And gain their strength only in the rainy season. Another feature of Australia is that most water bodies do not have a runoff into the ocean.

This situation is explained by the fact that nature has played a cruel joke with the mainland, and there is an uneven distribution of precipitation in Australia. Most of the time, the riverbeds of Australia are in a dried state and are filled only in rare rainy seasons. Then they overflow and flood nearby settlements. And with their cessation, they calm down and under the scorching sun they become smaller or completely dry.

There are about 70 rivers on the mainland. This list also includes the Queen River, the length of which does not reach even 13 km. The rivers in Austria are treated very carefully.

The largest rivers in Australia:

1. Murray. Its length is 1600 miles (2575 km.)
2. Murrumbidgee. Its length is 1051 miles (1690 km.)
3. Darling. 920 miles long (1482 km.)
4. Lachlan. It flows through Australia for 835 miles (1345 km.)
5. Cooper Creek. During the rainy season is 692 miles (1113 km.)
6. Flinders. Its length is 630 miles (1014 km.)
7. Diamantina. The river stretches for 586 miles (943 km)

The longest river in Australia is the Murray. Its origins are far in the Australian Alps. Wriggling, it flows along the entire length of the mainland.

Murray at one time became the border for two neighboring states. It was according to her drawing that the territory of Victoria and New South Wales were divided. The water artery flows through Lakes Victoria and Alexandrina. The Murray ends its course in the waters of the Great Australian Bight.

Once upon a time there were small boats on the Murray

The mouth of the Murray River has always been small and shallow. Only in the rainy season does it overflow and gain strength. At this time, it becomes dangerous and can flood entire cities. In 1956, the largest flood of the river was recorded. Its waters flooded cities and towns in the Lower Murray area. The flood lasted for six months and brought enormous destruction. But most of the time, Murray remains calm and safe.

Murray is famous for its inhabitants. There are three types of perches here: golden, silver and macquarie. You can catch Australian smelt, cod, trout, eel or tailed catfish.

The waters are also a habitat for other animal species. For example, Murray turtles, which have a short neck, or clawed shrimp yabbies and macrobrachium.

The Murrumbidgee is a river in New South Wales. It originates on the Great Dividing Range, its Eastern Highlands. The Murrumbidgee flows through the entire territory of the state and its several large cities and supplies irrigation systems with fresh water.

Marranbidji has the Tantangara Dam and several reservoirs. With their help, the natural runoff is regulated and reduced by 50%.

Throughout its length, the Murrumbidgee has several tributaries:

• Molonglo with a length of 72 miles (115 km.);
• Kotter its length is 47 miles (76 km.);
• Loklandlinoy 835 miles (1345 km.).

The Murrumbidgee itself is a tributary of the large Murray River. They merge near the border of the two states.

Murrumbidgee is the main source of irrigation water in the Riverina region

It originates at the confluence of the two river arteries Baruon and Kalgoa. It is they who form the third largest river in Australia Darling. Like all mainland waters, it is used to irrigate fields. The Darling flows into the Murray River in New South Wales.

Despite the fact that it is the third largest river in Australia, it is shallow for most of the year, and in the lower reaches it dries up completely. During the rainy season, the water level in it can rise to 10-15 meters. Its streams demolish everything in its path, thereby forming new obstacles for some tributaries.

The Darling is a right tributary of the Murray

Lachlan originates in the state of New South Wales, 13 km from the city of Gunning. Initially, it runs along a valley with sharp cliffs, thereby forming frequent rapids. But below, Lachlan found her way across the plain. It is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee about 200 km from its confluence with the Murray.

The Wayangala Dam and artificial reservoirs were built on the river. Thanks to this, it is possible to regulate the catchment and use the river to irrigate fields.

The filling of the channel with water depends only on precipitation. Therefore, its level fluctuates greatly. During the rise of water in spring and summer, Lachlan becomes navigable.

Lachlan does not feed on melt water from snowmelt.

Cooper Creek begins at the confluence of the two water arteries Barku and Thomson, flows through the two states of Queensland and South Australia. It flows into Lake Eyre.

Cooper Creek is a dry river. Of all the "shouts" of the mainland, it is the largest and is in a dry state for a significant part of the year. It only fills up during the rainy season. Despite the hot and arid climate and the unstable filling of its channel with water, the lands along it are fertile.

Cooper Creek is Australia's largest creek.

On the southwestern slope of Mount Gregory, near the city of Kargun, the Flinders water artery originates. It is tortuous and often changes its direction. It has several tributaries, including Stoell, Cloncurry and Saxby. The Flinders ends its course, flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria.

On the territory through which the waters of the Flinders flow, pastures are located and animal husbandry is developed.

The Flinders River was named after Matthew Flinders, a British navigator.

The Diamantina originates in the state of Queensland and flows through the southeastern part of Mount Isa and Cloncurry. It ends, flowing into the swamp Goyder's Lagoon. But with the arrival of the rainy season and the rise of the water, it overflows and flows out of it. A little lower than the Diamantina swamp, it merges with the Georgina River, thus the large Warburton Creek begins its existence, and it, in turn, flows into Lake Eyre.

The basin of the Diamantina waterway is divided into many pastures. Animal husbandry is developed on its territory.

The Diamantina Basin has practically no uplands, and its territory is dominated by flat terrain.

Many will not agree with some data, since some of the rivers are completely dry for half a year. And then they cannot be a large artery. But during their filling, they show all their power and strength. And this fact cannot be ignored.

At 2,995 kilometers (1,861 miles) long, the Murray descends from the Australian Alps.

From the most drained western side of the highest mountains of the Australian continent, and for most of its length, meanders in the interior plains of Australia, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria.

It flows northwest, turns south for a final journey of 500 kilometers (310 miles) and, upon reaching the ocean, falls into Lake Alexandrina.

The largest river in Australia - The nature of the river

Most Australian rivers are located close to the coast. The largest and longest of the Australian rivers can be found in the eastern part of the country. They pass through different environments on their way to the sea: mountain forests, wetlands, farmlands and cities.

Many different animals live in the Australian river area. Fish, frogs, crayfish, mussels, platypuses, swans, ducks, pelicans, kangaroos, lizards, snakes, turtles live in the aquatic environment of the river.

The streams of the Murray water pass through several lakes that fluctuate in salinity (and were fresh until recent decades), including Lakes Alexandrina and Coorong before emptying through the mouth of the Murray River in the southeastern Indian Ocean, and if you refer to Australian maps, the Southern Ocean, near Goolwa.

Despite the filling of the river bed with significant volumes of water, before the advent of irrigation systems, the mouth was always relatively small and shallow.

Since 2010, the river system receives 58% of the waters of the natural flow. This is Australia's most important region of irrigated land - the feeding ground of the nation.

Less than one fifth of rainwater goes to Australian rivers. Much of the rainwater evaporates, is used by trees and plants, or ends up in lakes, swamps, or the ocean. Due to this, Australian rivers have a very irregular flow.

This means that sometimes the river becomes wider, deeper and has a fast flow, and sometimes shallower, its channels become narrow, and the waters are slow.

river of life

The Murray River, and its associated tributaries, support many of the river's unique life forms, adapted to its whims.

• This includes various fish species such as the famous Murray cod, trout, golden perch, Macquarie perch, silver perch, eel, tailed catfish, Australian smelt and western minnow carp.
• Several other aquatic animals can be named, such as short-necked Murray turtles, Murray river crayfish, broad-clawed yabbies and large-clawed Macrobrachium shrimp, water rats, Platypus. The Murray River supports forest corridors with its edging.

The health of the Murray River has declined significantly. Recent extreme droughts (2000-2007) have placed a significant strain on coastal forests, with growing concern for their long-term survival. Murray also floods places in some cases, the most significant was the 1956 flood - it lasted six months and flooded many cities on the lower Murray.

Introduced fish species - carp, mosquito fish, char, rudd perch and rainbow trout - have also experienced severe negative effects of the changes. The degraded environment of the Murray River and its tributaries is destroying plants and constantly causing an increase in turbidity.

Slightly more than half of the mainland has a disconnected flow or belongs to the internal drainage basins. On the Western Plateau, the runoff is disjointed, and the streams existing there function rarely and for a short time, and end in temporary lakes or swamps confined to drainless basins. A large area in Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia with an area of ​​​​1143.7 thousand square meters. km belongs to the Lake Eyre basin, one of the world's largest inland flow basins.

The large rivers in this basin, Georgina, Diamantina, and Cooper Creek, have very low slopes and are usually dry, intertwining labyrinths of channels, but after rains they can spill for many kilometers in width. The waters of these rivers very rarely reach Lake Eyre: in 1950 its basin was filled for the first time since the colonization of the mainland by Europeans.

The main river artery of Australia, the Murray, together with its large tributaries the Darling, Murrumbidgee and Goulburn, drains an area of ​​1,072.8 thousand square meters. km in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

The headwaters of large tributaries are 200 km from the east coast and merge to form the main rivers, which flow in winding, often meandering channels to the sea. The Murray, originating in the Snowy Mountains, flows into Encounter Bay in South Australia.

Its total length is 2575 km, including the lower 970 km accessible to small craft. Sandbanks blocking the mouth of the river serve as an obstacle to the entry of ships. Murrumbidgee (length 1690 km) begins in the Cooma region and flows into the Murray.

The flow of the Murray and Murrumbidgee is regulated by the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric system. The tributaries of the Darling drain all of the western slopes of the mountains of Eastern Australia in northern New South Wales and parts of southeast Queensland.

The main Darling River, 2740 km long, flows into the Murray at Wentworth. Dams built on this river and several of its major tributaries regulate the flow, except during the most severe droughts.

Most of the lakes in Australia are waterless basins covered with saline clays. In those rare cases when they are filled with water, they are silty salty and shallow water bodies. There are many such lakes on the Western Plateau in Western Australia, but the largest of them are in South Australia: Lake Eyre, Torrens, Gairdner and Frome.

Numerous lagoons with brackish or salt water are developed along the southeastern coast of Australia, separated from the sea by sandbars and ridges.

The largest freshwater lakes are in Tasmania, where some of them, including Great Lake, are used for hydroelectric purposes.

Groundwater supply is vital to many rural areas in Australia. The total area of ​​basins with groundwater reserves exceeds 3240 thousand square meters. km. These waters mostly contain dissolved solids that are harmful to plants, but in many cases the water is suitable for watering livestock.

The Great Artesian Basin, the largest in the world, in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and the Northern Territory covers an area of ​​1,751.5 thousand square meters. km. Although the groundwater is often very warm and highly mineralized, the area's sheep breeding depends on it. Smaller artesian pools are found in Western Australia and southeast Victoria.

Australia is famous not only for its rare species of marsupials, picturesque desert and mountain landscapes, but also for its magnificent lakes. They differ in geological origin, composition of water and even color. They differ in the beauty of the coastal zone. But let's look at the largest water bodies and find out which is the largest lake in Australia, and also imagine several unusual reservoirs of the continent.

Disappointment

Opens our list, albeit a small one, with an area of ​​​​only 330 km², but with an interesting history of discovery, Lake Disappointment.

The famous traveler Frank Hann explored the western expanses of Australia in the last quarter of the 19th century in the hope of finding a freshwater lake. In 1897, having found freshwater streams, he went to the shore of the lake, but the water in it turned out to be salty, which greatly disappointed the researcher.

This is how the lake got its name, because “disappointment” in English means disappointment.

TOP 10 largest Australian lakes

alegzandrina

A unique lake on the southern coast of Australia is closely adjacent to the ocean bay, and got its beautiful name in honor of Princess Alexandrina, who ruled under the name of Queen Victoria.

Large rivers of the continent flow into the amazingly beautiful lake from its eastern side, but the lake is still shallow and there are many islands on its surface.

The natives worshiped the waters of the lake, and believed that a monster lives in its depths. Now a lot of lizards, snakes and turtles live on the banks of the Alexandrina.

By the way, in one of the articles we wrote about the most, we advise you to read it!

Frome

One of the large endorheic reservoirs is located in the southern part of Australia near the mountain range, and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe lake is 2596 km².

Filling with water occurs due to small streams flowing down from the Flinders ridges, and the mirror of the lake stretches for 100 km. The shores of the reservoir are diverse in landscape. From the east, flat expanses of the desert adjoin it, and in the west there are the most beautiful landscapes of the national park.

It is rare that land surveyors are honored to have lakes named after them, but Edward Frome, being surveyor general, was honored with such an honor.

By the way, the site has a very interesting article about striking with its magnificent landscapes.

Another endorheic and very salty lake with the romantic name Amadius is located in the very center of the mainland, and its area is 1032 km². The climate in this part of the country is quite dry, which is why the lake is dry for most of the year.

Europeans learned about it in 1872, and since then it has been called the name of the monarch of Spain. Although initially they insisted on the name in honor of Ferdinand Müller, who allocated funds for the study of the lake.

The length of the lake stretches for 180 km, which makes it one of the longest, but the development of salt is not carried out, due to the remoteness from highways and markets.

One of the many drying lakes in the West of the Australian continent, which differs from them in its large area of ​​​​3494 km². Interestingly, the lake is almost the same both in width and length, which are equal to 100 km.

The lake is a real natural attraction, because the water completely leaves the reservoir during the dry season, leaving a desert landscape with some areas of thickets.

Another interesting point. The depth of the lake directly depends on the time of year when the depth measurement takes place. In the rainy season, the depth reaches up to 3 m, but in dry periods it does not exceed 50 cm.

A lake with picturesque shores of the national natural park of the same name in the state of South Australia. The area of ​​​​the reservoir is 4700 km², which firmly fixes it in fourth place in terms of size among the large lakes of the continent.

In length, Gairdner extends for 160 km, and the surface is covered with a salt crust, the thickness of which in some areas reaches 1.3 m. The lake is fed by six streams, which, however, also dry up.

The lake received its name in 1857, and the name Gairdner was personally given to him by the governor of the state, Richard McDonnell.

A large drying lake, whose area is 5714 km², is comfortably located within the Western Australian Plateau. It got its name in honor of David Carnegie, who explored the lake and its shores in the 80s of the last century.

The reservoir is located at an altitude of 439 m above sea level, and is surrounded mainly by desert plains. Only during the rainy season, Carnegie is completely filled with water, and during the drought period it is a swampy area with dense vegetation.

The location on the plateau has deprived the lake of natural inflows of water, therefore it is fed only during rainfall.

torrens

In the state of South Australia, a beautiful and unusual lake called Torrens has spread a mirror of its water surface. And they named the reservoir in honor of the founder of the British colony, Colonel Robert Torrance.

The lake area of ​​​​5698 km² declared in reference books and Wikipedia is very arbitrary. The reason is that the lake is not always filled with water within its shores, and in the last 150 years, only in 1989 during the rainy season, heavy rainfall filled the lake.

The geology of the lake goes back over 40,000 years. The water in it is so salty that almost all the time the surface of the reservoir is covered with a thin crust of salt with small impurities of clay.

Bonnie Riverland

Sprawling off the very southeast coast, not far from the town of Millicent, is the largest lake in Australia with fresh water.

It is noteworthy that there are no rivers flowing from it, and when it is full, water immediately enters the ocean. Around the lake is the chic Kanunda Natural Park, famous for rare plant species and rare fauna.

For many years, the nearby pulp mills have caused great damage to the ecosystem of the lake and the coastal zone, but today the sewage treatment plant has rectified the situation. TopCafe highly recommends this place to visit, especially since it is not so far from the largest Australian cities.

hiller

Before moving on to the area record holder, let's go to a unique reservoir, the color of the water of which is painted pink.

It is located on the small island of Middle Island in the South-West of Australia. The shores of the lake are strewn with sand, and majestic eucalyptus trees grow nearby. Over the years, scientists have been conducting research to find out why the waters of an unusual reservoir are colored pink.

In 2016, the pink Lake Hiller revealed its secret. It turned out that the whole thing is in the special algae that grow in its waters.

So it's time to introduce the largest lake in Australia, the surface area of ​​​​which is 9500 km², and it is located in the very center of the basin of the same name, almost in the very center of the continent.

Kati-Tanda, as it is also called by the locals, is a ephemeral reservoir. Very rarely, the water level reaches 9m below sea level, and during dry periods the level drops to -16m, which makes Eyre's surface the lowest point in the country.

During heavy rains, floods can occur in the vicinity of Eyre. Despite such unusual conditions, a popular yacht club in the country functions on the lake.

The largest lake in Australia is really striking in its size, but, like the mainland of Australia itself, the smallest of all the continents on the planet, so the largest lake, spread over its expanses, is much smaller than the world record holders.

The large rivers and lakes of Australia make up the whole water system of the mainland, they have a huge recreational potential, and, what is especially interesting, every city in Australia is built on the banks of the river. If you have something to add about the lakes of Australia, write comments on our article, we are very interested in your opinion.