The Walker River is a river in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
, Australia.
Course
The headwaters of the river are in the
Mitchell Ranges and the river flows in a southerly direction between Mount Ramsay and Mount Fleming and through Fairy Glen then down onto a plain then cuts through Bath Range under Mount Rankine and veering eastward. The river then passes the
Aboriginal communities of Marrkalawa and Andanangki the past the Coast Range and discharges into Blue Mud Bay and the
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...
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 is ...
.
The river catchment occupies an area of and is wedged between the
Koolatong River catchment to the north, the
Goyder River catchment to the west, and the
Roper River
The Roper River is a large perennial river located in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory of Australia.
Location and features
Formed by the confluence of the Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, the Roper River rises east of Mataranka ...
catchment to the south.
It has a mean annual outflow of .
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 enviro ...
formed at the river mouth is in near pristine condition with a tidal delta. The estuary at the river mouth occupies an area of of open water. It is river dominated in nature with a tide dominated delta with a single channel and is surrounded by an area of covered with
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
s.
History
The
traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
of the area are the
Nunggubuyu people, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years.
The river was named by the explorer,
David Lindsay, during his expedition through
Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...
in 1883. Lindsay named it after Thomas Walker, the leader of the Blue Mud Bay prospecting party, who was murdered by Aboriginal people in the area in 1875.
See also
*
List of rivers of Northern Territory
References
{{Rivers of the Northern Territory , state=collapsed
Rivers of the Northern Territory