10 Longest and Most Beautiful Rivers in Australia
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| Rivers in Australia. Photo: KnowInsiders |
Australia is a sovereign country located on the Australian continent. It also has a region in the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. With a 7,692,024 km squares area, Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world by area and categorized as a developed country. It is a federal country consist of 6 states and 2 major mainland territories.
There are numerous rivers in Australia. Because much of Australia’s interior is arid, the low average annual rainfall means interior rivers are often dry and lakes empty. The headwaters of some waterways are located in tropical regions where summer rains create a high rate of discharge. Flood events drastically alter the dry environment in which the ecology of central Australia has had to adapt to the boom and bustcycle.
The List of 10 Longest and Beautiful Rivers in Australia
1. Murray - 2,508 Km
2. Murrumbidgee River – 1, 485 km
3. Darling River – 1, 472 km
4. Lachlan River – 1, 448 km
5. Warrego River – 1, 380 km
6. Cooper Creek – 1, 300 km
7. Paroo River – 1,210 km
8. Flinders River – 1,004 km
9. Diamantina River – 941 km
10. Gascoyne River – 834 km
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Which are the 10 Longest and Beautiful Rivers in Australia?
1. Murray - 2,508 Km
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| Photo: Ilya Genkin |
The river boasts a rich history, as aboriginal groups have relied on it for sustenance for centuries. The river also had cultural importance for the aboriginal tribes inhabiting the river’s basin. A typical folk tale among the groups was that of a hunter chasing a Murray cod and carving out the river as a result. The river was discovered by European explorers in 1824 after which it was used for navigation, irrigation, and water supply. The Murray River today is home to dams and locks and weirs to control water quantities during drought or floods and hydroelectric projects. Social and recreational facilities such as the annual canoe race are popular in River Murray. Aquafauna present in the river includes Murray cod, perch, catfish, western carp gudgeon, and trout cod. Other fauna on the river’s basin include turtles, koalas, pelicans, Gray kangaroos, and lizards. The river has been negatively impacted by increased salinity levels, climate change, and over-extraction of water.
2. Murrumbidgee River – 1, 485 km
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| Photo: Flickr |
Murrumbidgee means big water in the Aboriginal culture and for thousands of years, this river was the livelihood of the Wiradjuri nation with the abundance of mussels, crayfish and fish in the river. Wildlife in the area includes wildfowl, turkeys, bandicoots, emus and kangaroos.
In 1832 the Wagga Wagga city was established on the south bank of the river and it extended across the river to North Wagga Wagga. The river rises 32 km north of Kiandra and flows southeast before making a fishhook bend and flows northward through the Australian Capital Territory.
It bends yet again to flow westward between Balranald and Maude it is joined by the Lachlan. 140 miles from the Victorian border it joins the Murray River.
3. Darling River – 1, 472 km
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| Photo: Insight – Charles Sturt University | |
The Darling River starts in New South Wales and flows in the Murray River in Wentworth. It is the most important waterway of the outback. A lot of the Darling River runs through saltbush pastures and due to lack of rain often lose more water due to evaporation that is gained by rainfall. Tourists that want to visit the longest rivers in Australia in 202 will be in for a surprise as the Darling River which was under threat are flowing again as reported in May 2019.
The Darling – Murray Basin has been drying for quite some time and if the dry condition continues to persist the Darling river definitely will not remain on the longest river list in 2021.
4. Lachlan River – 1, 448 km
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| Photo: Flow-MER |
The Lachlan River is the principal tributary of Murrumbidgee River. It runs through the state of South Wales and flows to a length of 1,450 kilometers. When in flood, it connects to the famous Murray-Darling Basin along with the Murrumbidgee River.
| * The river originates at Gunning where Hannans Creek and Mutmutbilly Creek meet. * It was discovered by a famous explorer, George William Evans in 1815. He named the river in honor of the Governor of the state of New South Wales – Lachlan Macquarie (1810 – 1820). * Lachlan is the only river that contains important wetlands all along its length instead of merely at the end, as it is the case with the other rivers in Australia. * Wyangala Reservoir is an important dam that stores the water of the Lachlan River. * Along with its tributaries, the mainstream drains a basin that covers an area of 84,690 square kilometers. |
 Top 10 Most Beautiful Rivers in the World Rivers have been an extremely essential part of people’s lives throughout centuries in all parts of the world, and undoubtedly they are incredibly charming. |
5. Warrego River – 1, 380 km
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| Photo: Flickr |
Warrego River is the fifth-longest river in Australia, measuring 1,380 kilometers or 857 miles. It is located in the southwest of Queensland and in the Orana region of New South Wales. The Warrego River is the northernmost tributary of the Darling River. The source of the Warrego River is from Mount Ka Ka Mundi, Carnarvon Range, and flows through to Darling River near Bourke, New South Wales.
6. Cooper Creek – 1, 300 km
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| Photo: Australia by Red Nomad OZ |
Cooper Creek is also known as the Barcoo River is one of Queensland’s three top river systems. It flows into Lake Eyre with the majority of its waters coming from monsoonal rains. Cooper Creek starts as two rivers west of the Great Dividing Range and it spreads out as vast channels before making its way to Queensland’s far south-west before turning into South Australia towards Lake Eyre.
7. Paroo River – 1,210 km
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| Photo: ipernity |
Paroo River is a series of wetlands, lakes and waterholes and only in wet years will it join the Darling River. The catchment of the river is in the Murray-Darling Basin’s northwest corner with half of it in New South Wales and the other half in Queensland.
The river starts west of Charleville in the Warrego Range and flows across semi-arid plains from the range county. It ends south of Wanaaring in New South Wales’s top north-west corner. When rains fall and in very wet years it is the only time that the Paroo River will flow all the way to reach Darling River.
The river is fringed with gidgee and eucalypt with the predominant species being poplar box, coolabah and red gum.
8. Flinders River – 1,004 km
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| Photo: ExplorOz |
Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland entirely. It length is 1,004 kilometers or 624 miles. It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. Flinders River flow from Burra Range, Great Divide Range in North West Queensland and flows through the Gulf of Carpentaria in the west of Karumba.
9. Diamantina River – 941 km
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| Photo: lookANDsee |
The Diamantina River in Channel Country rises northwest of Longreach in Kirby’s Range and only flows seasonally past Birdsville to South Australia’s Goyder Lagoon. Here it drains in a basin of 158, 000 square kilometres.
During a flood, the Georgina River and the Diamantina merge and grain along Warburton Creek to Lake Eyre. The principal tributaries of the Diamantina are the Mayne and Western Rivers
10. Gascoyne River – 834 km
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| Photo: www.carnarvon.wa.hospitalityinns.com.au |
Gascoyne River is the longest river in Western Australia at 834 kilometers or 518 miles. It has three sources, Collier Ranger in Three Rivers Station, middle Gascoyne River in west of Beyondie Lakes and south Gascoyne River near the Doolgunna homestead. It flow through directly to Indian Ocean near Shark Bay.
| Other Australian Rivers of Notes The Darling River, Australia’s second-longest at 960 miles according to Geoscience Australia, connects with the Murray River in Wentworth. It gets its start well to the northeast of Adelaide, towards Brisbane, before making its way through much of the outback. However, it should be noted that it sometimes gets so dry that it doesn’t really flow for part of its length. The third-longest river in Australia is also a tributary of the Murray River. It’s the Murrumbidgee River. It gets its start just southeast of Canberra before meeting up with the Murray River at Boundary Bend in an area just east of Mildura. According to Geoscience Australia, this river’s length is 925 miles. Several Aboriginal tribes have traditional lands along this river as well. Australia’s fourth-longest river is the Lachlan River, which is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River. Most notably, it’s got wetlands along its entire length, which is atypical for Australian rivers. |
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