The Markham River is a river in eastern
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. It originates in the
Finisterre Range
The Finisterre Range is a mountain range in north-eastern Papua New Guinea. The highest point is ranked 41st in the world by prominence with an elevation of 4,150 m. Although the range's high point is not named on official maps, the name "Mount ...
and flows for to empty into the
Huon Gulf at
Lae.
Course
The Markham is a major river in eastern
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. Its headwaters (''Umi'' and ''Bitjia'') originate in the
Finisterre Range
The Finisterre Range is a mountain range in north-eastern Papua New Guinea. The highest point is ranked 41st in the world by prominence with an elevation of 4,150 m. Although the range's high point is not named on official maps, the name "Mount ...
. From their confluence, it flows swiftly southeast through steep mountains and empties into
Huon Bay. Its wide (0.5–2 km) but shallow bed forms a series of
braided channels through a large central
depression, the
Markham Valley. Its sparsely populated flat valley includes considerable
agricultural
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
land downstream (
cocoa and
groundnut plantations,
cattle ranching). Its lower 70 km are
navigable. Its largest tributary is the ''Watut River'', which originates in the
Bulolo Valley.
The river was named in 1873 by
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
John Moresby,
R.N., in honour of
Sir Clements Markham, then Secretary of the
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
. A single-lane steel bridge, 1690 feet long – by far the longest bridge built in Papua until that time – was opened in January 1955.
[ ]
Hydrology
The central part of the
Markham Valley is dry (1,000–1,500 mm of rainfall), while the mountainous peripheries and the southern part of the valley receive more
rainfall (up to 4,200 mm per year). The whole catchment receives an average of 2,100 mm of rainfall per year. This area is classified as
Cwa and
Af according to
Köppen's climate classification. The river transports large quantities of
sediment
Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
, 9–12 million tonnes per year.
Tributaries
The main tributaries from the mouth:
See also
*
List of rivers of Papua New Guinea
*
List of rivers of Oceania
References
Rivers of Papua New Guinea
Morobe Province
Lae
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