| Mitchell | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:MitchellRiver_Nov08.jpg) View inland, up the Mitchell River, at small waterfalls in between Dunbar and Koolatah stations | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Australia_Queensland_relief_location_map.jpg)  Location of Mitchell River mouth in Queensland | |
| Etymology | In honour of Sir Thomas Mitchell[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Queensland |
| Region | Far North Queensland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Atherton Tableland, Great Dividing Range |
| • location | west of Kuranda |
| • coordinates | 16°46′42″S 145°18′11″E / 16.77833°S 145.30306°E |
| • elevation | 376 m (1,234 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Carpentaria |
• location | north of Kowanyama |
• coordinates | 15°11′47″S 141°35′04″E / 15.19639°S 141.58444°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 750 km (470 mi) |
| Basin size | 71,757 km2 (27,706 sq mi)[2] to 73,230 km2 (28,270 sq mi)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Mitchell River Delta, Gulf of Carpentaria |
| • average | (Period: 1890-2015)15,570 GL/a (493 m3/s)[4] to 22,951,000 ML/a (727.3 m3/s)[3] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Hodgkinson River, Dry River (Queensland), Walsh River, Lynd River |
| • right | McLeod River (Queensland), St George River (Queensland), Little Mitchell River, Palmer River (Queensland), Alice River |
| National parks | Hann Tableland National Park; Mitchell-Alice Rivers National Park; Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park; Bulleringa National Park; Forty Mile Scrub National Park |
| [5][2][6] | |
The Mitchell River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia.[1] The river rises on the Atherton Tableland about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of Cairns and flows about 750 kilometres (470 mi) northwest across Cape York Peninsula from Mareeba to the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The river's watershed covers an area of 71,757 km2 (27,706 sq mi).[2] The Mitchell has the state's largest discharge,[7] at 11.3 million megalitres (2.5×1012 imp gal; 3.0×1012 US gal) annually, but is intermittent and may be dry for part of the year. Lake Mitchell is the main water storage facility on the river.[8]
It was named by Ludwig Leichhardt on 16 June 1845 after Sir Thomas Mitchell while he was on his overland expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington.[1] It may have been previously named the Vereenighde River in 1623 by Dutch merchant and navigator Jan Carstensz.[1]
- ^ a b c d "Mitchell River (entry 22373)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- ^ a b c "Mitchell Basin: Wetland Summary Information". Environmental Protection Agency. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 9 August 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Basin & Surface Water Management Area: Mitchell River (WA)".
- ^ "Reports on the Mitchell catchment-CSIRO".
- ^ "Map of Mitchell River, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ "Mitchell Water Resource Plan Consultation Report" (PDF). Department of Natural Resources and Water. Brisbane: Queensland Government. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- ^ "Indicator: IW-01 Annual river discharge". Australian Government Department of the environment. Australian Government Department of the environment. 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ^ "Water resources - Overview - Queensland - Basin & Surface Water Management Area: Mitchell River (QLD)". Australian Natural Resources Atlas. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.