Mitchell River (Western Australia)

This article is about the river in Western Australia, Australia. For the river in Victoria, Australia, see Mitchell River (Victoria). For the river in Queensland, see Mitchell River (Queensland).
For other uses, see Mitchell River.
Mitchell River
Mitchell Falls
Map
Location
CountryAustralia
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • elevation441 metres (1,447 ft)[2]
Mouth 
 • location
Walmsley Bay
 • elevation
sea level
Length117 kilometres (73 mi)[1]
Basin size2,955 square kilometres (1,141 sq mi)[3]

Mitchell River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The river rises north east of Sharp Hill and flows in a north-westerly direction until discharging into the Indian Ocean via Walmsley Bay near Port Warrender.

The best known feature of the river is Mitchell Falls located within the Mitchell River National Park, a three tiered series of drops with a combined height of nearly 80 metres (260 ft).

In 1921 the river was named after Sir James Mitchell the Premier of Western Australia by surveyor William Eastman.[4]

Nine species of freshwater fish are known to inhabit the waters of the Mitchell River.

There is another Mitchell River located in Western Australia that is a tributary of the Hay River in the south of the state.

  1. ^ "History of river names – M". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  2. ^ "Bonzle Digital Atlas - Map of Mitchell River, WA". 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  3. ^ "The Kimberley River Environment" (PDF). 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2009.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Mitchell Plateau". Derby Tourism. Retrieved 11 November 2020.