Macdonald River, a
perennial river
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
that is part of the
Namoi catchment within the
Murray–Darling basin
The Murray–Darling Basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of the tributaries of the Murray River, Australia's longest river, and the Darling River, a right tributary of ...
, is located in the
Northern Tablelands
The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...
district of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
Course and features
The river rises east of
Niangala on the western slopes of the
Moonbi Range
The Moonbi Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.
The range is located roughly north east of the city of Tamworth situated at the bottom of the ...
and
the Great Dividing Range and generally flows north west after 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 its major
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...
, the
Cobrabald River, and flows through
Warrabah National Park before reaching its
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 ...
, with the
Namoi River; dropping over its
course of .
[
From source to mouth, the river passes through or near the villages of Woolbrook and Bendemeer.
]
Recreation and development
Trout fishing is possible in the waters of the Macdonald River, its creeks and tributaries upstream of the New England Highway
New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...
road bridge at Bendemeer. The Namoi River snapping turtle or Bell's turtle (''Elseya belli'') is a species of turtle found only in the upper reaches of the Namoi River, Gwydir River and Macdonald Rivers.
The T A Perry Bridge, that carries the New England Highway and crosses the Macdonald River, was completed in 1985, enabling a bypass of the village of Bendemeer.
In November 2008, torrential rain caused severe flooding in the Macdonald River and led to the area being declared a natural disaster area.
See also
* List of rivers of Australia
Rivers are ordered alphabetically, by state. The same river may be found in more than one state as many rivers cross state borders.
Longest rivers nationally
Longest river by state or territory
Although the Murray River forms much of the bor ...
* List of rivers of New South Wales (L–Z)
This is the second part of a list of rivers of New South Wales, Australia. With List of rivers of New South Wales (A–K) it includes all 439 rivers, as of 7 June 2008, listed by the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales in the Geographic ...
* Rivers of New South Wales
This page discusses the rivers and hydrography of the state of New South Wales, Australia.
The principal topographic feature of New South Wales is the series of low highlands and plateaus called the Great Dividing Range, which extend from nor ...
References
External links
*
Trout and salmon fishing rules
{{coord, 30, 53, S, 151, 10, E, region:AU-NSW_type:river_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
Rivers of New South Wales
Murray-Darling basin