The Goomadeer River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

, Australia.

Etymology

The name comes from the Kunwinjku ''Kumardderr'', which is the name of an area that the river flows through. The name means literally 'at the silver-leaved paperbark', referring to '' Melaleuca argentea'', known as ''mardderr'' in the Kunwinjku language.

Description

The headwaters are located on the sandstone plateau fed by

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

s in

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Company ...

at an elevation of and flows in a northerly direction through mostly uninhabited lands and eventually discharges into Junction Bay and the

Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea i ...

. The only

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

of the river is the Gumardir River. The

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

formed at the river mouth is in near pristine condition and occupies an area of of open water. It is riverdominated in nature with a tide dominated delta having a single channel and is surrounded by an area of covered with

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

s. The catchment occupies an area of and is situated between the

East Alligator River Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...

catchment to the west and the

Liverpool River Liverpool River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the largest of the tidal river systems of northern Arnhem Land, which includes two major tributaries, the Tomkinson and Mann Rivers. Geography The river rises at the ea ...

catchment to the east. It has an annual discharge of .

Flora and fauna

The

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

vegetation of the river is in good condition but are declining as a result of the proliferation of

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

pigs and buffalo and the invasion of some weed species. 19 species of fish are found in the river including; the Macleay's Glassfish, Barred Grunter, Sooty Grunter, Fly-specked Hardyhead, Northern Trout Gudgeon, Gulf Saratoga,

Barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, Sou ...

, Oxeye Herring, Rainbowfish, Black-banded Rainbowfish, Bony Bream, Catfish, Freshwater Longtom, Seven-spot Archerfish and the Sleepy Cod. The

pig-nosed turtle The pig-nosed turtle (''Carettochelys insculpta''), also known as the pitted-shelled turtle or Fly River turtle, is a species of turtle native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the only living member of the family Carettoch ...

, a threatened species of turtle, is known to inhabit sections of the river, but only in small populations.

References

{{Rivers of the Northern Territory , state=collapsed Rivers of the Northern Territory Arnhem Land Arafura Sea

Etymology

Description

Flora and fauna

See also

References