The Alberga River, also known as the Alberga Creek, is an
ephemeral river that is part of the
Lake Eyre basin
The Lake Eyre basin ( ) is a drainage basin that covers just under one-sixth of all Australia. It is the largest endorheic basin in Australia and amongst the largest in the world, covering about , including much of inland Queensland, large port ...
located in the
Far North region of the Australian state of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
.
Course and features
The river rises near , north of the
Oodnadatta Track
__NOTOC__
The Oodnadatta Track is an unsealed outback road in the Australian state of South Australia, connecting Marla in the north-west via Oodnadatta to Marree in the south-east. Along the way, the track passes the settlements of Oodnadatt ...
and about northwest of the town of
Oodnadatta
Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta ...
[ and northeast of . The Alberga generally flows east by south, joined by eight minor tributaries and three waterholes before reaching its ]confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
with the Macumba River near the town of . The river descends over its course
Course may refer to:
Directions or navigation
* Course (navigation), the path of travel
* Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...
.[
The river is crossed by '']The Ghan
''The Ghan'' () is an experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor ...
'' near its source.
History
European history
The Alberga River was discovered on 23 March 1860 by John McDouall Stuart
John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers.
Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...
who considered it to be a branch of the Neales River
The Neales River is a watercourse located in the Far North region of the Australian state of South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Aust ...
. The river was named by William Christie Gosse in 1873. It is also known as Alberga Creek.Australian Overland Telegraph Line
The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was an electrical telegraph system for sending messages the between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Completed in 1872 (with a li ...
between the coasts of Australia. The southern section, between Port Augusta
Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...
and Alberga Creek, was contracted to Edward Meade Bagot in 1870. The overland telegraph was completed on 22 May 1872.
See also
*
References
{{Rivers of South Australia, state=autocollapse
Rivers of South Australia
Far North (South Australia)
Lake Eyre basin