Cape River (Queensland)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Burdekin River is a river in
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...
, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the
Seaview Range The Seaview Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a mountain range located west of Ingham in North Queensland, Australia. Much of the range is covered by rainforest and parts of it are protected in the Girringun National Park and the We ...
, and flows into the
Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...
at Upstart Bay over to the southeast of the source, with a
catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of approximately . The Burdekin River is Australia's largest river by (peak) discharge volume. The river was first encountered by Europeans during the expedition led by
Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (; 23 October 1813 – ), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's disappearanc ...
in 1845 and named in honour of Thomas Burdekin, one of the sponsors of the expedition.


Course and features

The Burdekin River rises on the western slopes of the Seaview Range, part of the
Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...
, west of . In the river's upper catchment, from its
source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...
the river generally flows west and then south out of the
Girringun National Park Girringun National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, approximately southwest of Ingham, north of Townsville and northwest of Brisbane. The park is one of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area series of national parks, and is ...
, part of the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Wet Tropics The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...
World Heritage Area World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage ...
. This area, now part of
Basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
was the location of one of the earliest inland settlements in northern Australia and was known as Dalrymple. The river is joined by Lucy Creek, the Running River, Star River and Keelbottom Creek, above . From the west in the Dry Tropics to the west of the river, the river is joined by the
Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a common surname ...
,
Basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
and Dry rivers. South of Charters Towers, the upper catchment of the Burdekin River is joined by the Fanning River, and then continues to flow south through
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s before entering Lake Dalrymple, the reservoir created by the
Burdekin Falls Dam The Burdekin Falls Dam, also known as the Burdekin Dam, is a concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled spillway across the Burdekin River in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. Built for the purpose of irrigation, the reservoir is cal ...
. Within Lake Dalrymple, the Burdekin River is joined by the
Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
, Suttor/ Belyando rivers. The source of the Belyando River in central western Queensland is almost from the
mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...
of the Burdekin River, and extends into the typical black-soil grassland of Central Queensland, with the Belyando draining the Drummond and
Galilee Basin The Galilee Basin is a large inland geological basin in the western Queensland region of Australia. The Galilee Basin is part of a larger Carboniferous to Mid-Triassic basin system that contains the Cooper Basin, situated towards the south-west ...
s and flowing north for over . Below the dam wall, in the river's lower catchment, is northern Australia's largest irrigation area with approximately under irrigation, predominantly for growing sugarcane. It consists of two broad regions, the earlier established
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...
region located on the coarse sedimentary deposits of the Burdekin River Delta, a groundwater dominated scheme, and the Burdekin Haughton Water Supply Scheme (BHWSS) – a more recently developed surface water dominated scheme on alluvial floodplains of the Burdekin River. Here the Burdekin is joined by the Bowen and
Bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
rivers. The Burdekin 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 ...
. Four DIWA wetlands can be found along the course of the river. The first is at the Valley of Lagoons in the upper region of the catchment, the next is a Lake Dalrymple, then at the junction of the Burdekin and Bowen rivers known as the Burdekin-Bowen Junction and Blue Valley Weir Aggregation and the last is at the river delta which forms a wetland. The Burdekin River is one of the most economically important rivers in Australia, and has the fourth-largest watershed of any
exorheic Open and closed lakes refer to the major subdivisions of lakes – bodies of water surrounded by land. Exorheic, or open, lakes drain into a river or other body of water that ultimately drains into the ocean. Endorheic basins fall into the ...
drainage system in Australia. It is also the fourth-largest river in Australia by volume of flow, but is so erratic that its discharge can reach the mean discharge of the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
(after two severe
cyclones In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...
in 1958) or have as many as seven months with ''no flow'' whatsoever (as in 1923). This exceedingly erratic flow is due to the extreme variability of
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
throughout the entire basin. Annual rainfall at most gauges within the basin can range from depending on the monsoon and the number of cyclones that cross the coast. On the coast itself, the variability is even higher: at Bowen not far from the river's mouth, the annual rainfall has ranged from in 1915 to over in 1950. It has the highest mean annual flow for any river adjacent to the
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
.


History

''Gugu Badhun'' (also known as ''Koko-Badun'' and ''Kokopatun'') is an
Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
of
North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...
. The language region includes areas within the local government area of
Charters Towers Region The Charters Towers Region is a local government area in North Queensland, Australia southwest of, and inland from the city of Townsville, based in Charters Towers. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas whic ...
, particularly the localities of Greenvale and the Valley of Lagoons, and in the Upper Burdekin River area and in Abergowrie. Yuru (also known as ''Juru, Euronbba, Juru, Mal Mal, Malmal'') is an
Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
spoken on Yuru country. The Yuru language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the
Shire of Burdekin The Shire of Burdekin is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia in the Dry Tropics region. The district is located between Townsville and Bowen in the delta of the Burdekin River. The shire covers an area of . It has e ...
, including the town of
Home Hill Home Hill is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Home Hill had a population of 2,876 people. At the delta of the Burdekin River, it is a sugarc ...
.' The river was first discovered by Europeans by
John Clements Wickham John Clements Wickham (21 November 17986 January 1864) was a Scotland, Scottish explorer, naval officer, magistrate and administrator. He was first lieutenant on during its Second voyage of HMS Beagle, second survey mission, 1831–1836, un ...
aboard in 1839 who named it the Wickham River. In 1849, Ludwig Leichhardt named the river after Thomas Burdekin, one of the sponsors of Leichhardt's expedition. Because he was inland away from the coast he was not aware it was the same watercourse named by Wickham. The town of Wickham was established on Rita Island at the river mouth but was soon swept away during a flood in the 1860s.
Pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...
had established runs along the river during the 1860s, with some along the lower reached taken for
selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strat ...
in the 1880s. In 1899, the
Burdekin River Rail Bridge Burdekin River Rail Bridge is a heritage-listed former railway bridge on the Great Northern railway over the Burdekin River at Dotswood, Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Henry Charles Stanley and built from ...
was built over the river about 24 km NE of
Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...
to carry the Great Northern railway. Although replaced by a new bridge in 1964, the old bridge remains and is listed on the
Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...
. The townships of
Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
and Brandon were established in 1882 with many sugarmills being erected. The North Coast railway between Ayr and
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
had the Inkerman Bridge over the Burdekin River from McDesme to
Home Hill Home Hill is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Home Hill had a population of 2,876 people. At the delta of the Burdekin River, it is a sugarc ...
which was built in 1913 followed by bridge for road traffic in 1930. Both were too low and often damaged during flooding and the decision was made to replace them with a higher dual level bridge known as the
Silver Link is a Japanese animation studio. It was founded by ex-Frontline animation producer Hayato Kaneko in December 2007 and is based in Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, ...
. Construction commenced in 1947 and was not completed until 1957 when the bridge opened. A weir was constructed in a gorge in the
Leichhardt Range The Leichhardt Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a mountain range located in North Queensland, North Queensland, Australia. The range runs parallel with the coast about west of Mackay, Queensland, Mackay and has an average elevation ...
for settlement farms near
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
and Dalbeg in 1953 for growing tobacco. In 1984 construction of the
Burdekin Falls Dam The Burdekin Falls Dam, also known as the Burdekin Dam, is a concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled spillway across the Burdekin River in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. Built for the purpose of irrigation, the reservoir is cal ...
commenced and was completed by 1987 when the dam started to fill forming Lake Dalrymple.


Floods

Floods events occur on average from no floods to three per year between December and March. Heavy flooding occurred in 1875 with the Dawson, Fitzroy, Mary and Burdekin Rivers rising up to in a few hours. The waters washed away dwellings, fencing and livestock and effects downstream included the loss of the steamer which was unable to steer effectively and ran aground on a reef at the entrance of Flinders Channel. In 1917 more severe flooding occurred with the bridge at
Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but ''de jure'' within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...
under of water and the one at
Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
over underwater after a day of flooding. Approximately one third of the Inkerman Bridge was later washed away by the floodwaters. Further flooding occurred in 1927 with waters running nearly over the Inkerman Bridge and over the Burdekin Bridge, the river reached its peak at above summer levels at Sellheim. During the 1974 flood event associated with Cyclone Wanda, which lasted from 17 December 1973 to 23 April 1974, an estimated mass discharge peak of of water per second was reached, which affected of coastline and created a plume with widths ranging from .


Water storage

The Burdekin Falls Dam, the largest dam in Queensland was constructed west of
Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
and
Home Hill Home Hill is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Home Hill had a population of 2,876 people. At the delta of the Burdekin River, it is a sugarc ...
and completed in 1987 to form what is also known as Lake Dalrymple. As part of the proposed Bradfield Scheme the upper Burdekin River was to be used to feed water by gravity westwards to the upper reaches of the
Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes o ...
.


Irrigation

On the lower Burdekin floodplain an
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
area was established in the early 1950s. At first only Gorge Weir and
Blue Valley Weir Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...
provided water to the scheme, until the 1970s when Eungella Dam also provided water. Water is also drawn from the
Haughton River The Haughton River is a river in North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The headwaters of the river rise in the Haughton Valley of the Leichhardt Range near Mingela and flow in a north easterly direction almost immediately crossing th ...
. Major pump stations are located at Clare Weir feeding water to both sides of the river. An area of is irrigated. In the delta around Ayr and Home Hill,
groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...
is used extensively to irrigate crops of
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
. This groundwater is recharged artificially during the extreme flood events that occasionally occur, usually due to a
La Niña LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
event. The use of groundwater in the floodplain is carefully managed so that supply can be maintained during the dry season and to prevent
saltwater intrusion Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can lead to groundwater quality degradation, including drinking water sources, and other consequences. Saltwater intrusion can naturally occur in coastal aquifers, ...
.


Watershed

The North Coast railway line crosses the river at Home Hill, via a bridge constructed in 1913. At the same location the
Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Natio ...
traverses the river via the
Burdekin Bridge The Burdekin Bridge (known as the Burdekin River Bridge or Silver Link) spans the Burdekin River between the towns of Ayr, Queensland, Ayr (locality of McDesme, Queensland, McDesme) to the north and Home Hill, Queensland, Home Hill to the sout ...
. Further west, the river is crossed by the Flinders Highway. Although on paper most of the basin of the Burdekin appears perfect for rainfed crops like cotton and maize, in fact the rainfall is so erratic that in almost every year a would-be farmer will experience either too little or too much rain for the crop to mature properly. Thus, most of the basin of the Burdekin can be used only for low-density grazing of sheep and cattle, since grazing is less likely to be damaged economically and ecologically by the extreme risks of an extraordinarily erratic climate. The Valley of Lagoons Station was established in 1862 after the area in the upper reaches of the Burdekin was opened up by the government. Initially stocked with sheep, the property was later used to raise cattle. In 1864, Inkerman Station was established toward the lower reaches, where the town of
Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but ''de jure'' within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...
now stands. The area was plagued by cattle tick, so the government acquired the property in 1910 and sold it off as farmland where sugarcane was later grown. The natural vegetation away from the coast is a grassland dominated by perennial Mitchell and annual Flinders grasses. Near the coast there are patches of dry
eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
forest on the typically infertile laterised soils characteristic of most of Australia. Few mines exist along the waterway, with the notable exception of the Ben Lomond
Uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
mine which is situated approximately west of Townsville. The mine is currently dormant, but in 1981 the mine discharged toxic waste containing unacceptable levels of
radioactivity Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
, when its tailing dam overflowed into a creek that feeds into the Burdekin.


Wildlife

'' Neosilurus mollespiculum'' is a species of eeltail catfish endemic to the Burdekin. Many other species such as Agassiz's glassfish, Irwin's turtle, banded grunter, barramundi, black catfish, eastern rainbowfish, empire gudgeon, freshwater longtom, mangrove jack, tilapia and yellowbelly are found throughout the catchment.


See also

* Burdekin Gap *


References


External links

* * {{Authority control North Queensland Bodies of water of the Coral Sea Rivers of Far North Queensland