| Ord River Miriwoong: Goonoonoorrang | |
|---|---|
 Ord River from a boat | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Kimberley Plateau |
| • coordinates | 15°30′S 128°21′E / 15.500°S 128.350°E |
| • elevation | 531 m (1,742 ft)[1] |
| Mouth | |
• location | Cambridge Gulf, Timor Sea |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 651 km (405 mi)[2] |
| Basin size | 55,100 km2 (21,300 sq mi)[2] 55,385 km2 (21,384 sq mi)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Cambridge Gulf (near mouth) |
| • average | 150 m3/s (4,700,000 ML/a)[3] |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Ord River |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Behn River, Negri River, Nicholson River |
| • right | Dunham River, Bow River, Panton River |
The Ord River is a 651-kilometre long (405 mi) river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers 55,100 square kilometres (21,274 sq mi).[2]
The lower Ord River and the confluence with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia.[4][5][6]
The Ord River Irrigation Scheme was built in stages during the 20th century. Australia's largest artificial lake by volume, Lake Argyle, was completed in 1972.
The lower reaches of the river support an important wetland area known as the Ord River Floodplain, a protected area that contains numerous mangrove forests, lagoons, creeks, flats, and extensive floodplains.[7]
The traditional owners are the Miriwoong and Gajerrong peoples who have inhabited the area for thousands of years and know the Ord River as Goonoonoorrang.[8] In a letter to the Surveyor General, dated 12 October 1959, Louise Gardiner, Secretary of the Nomenclature Advisory Committee wrote: "'Cununurra'...means 'Black Soil'. It is the native name for Ord River. Perhaps it may be the native name for any big river, but according to Mary Durack it is definitely the name for the 'Ord'."[9]
- ^ "Bonzle Digital Atlas Map of Ord River, WA". 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
- ^ a b c "Ord River surface water allocation plan". Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
At 650 kilometres long, the Ord River in the east Kimberley is one of the state's major river systems and the Ord River Basin drains an area of 55 100 km2.
- ^ a b "Surface Water Management Area: Ord River (WA)".
- ^ "The Response of the Lower Ord River and Estuary to Management of Catchment Flows and Sediment and Nutrient Loads: Final Science Report". researchgate.net. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "The Ord River Estuary: A Regulated Wet-Dry Tropical River System". researchgate.net. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Case Study: The Ord River page 206 of Turner, Lynne; Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Australia); CSIRO Publishing (2006), Where river meets sea : exploring Australia's estuaries, CSIRO Publishing, ISBN 978-0-643-09258-7
- ^ "Protecting Ramsar wetlands: Site Investment Guide: Ord River Floodplain Ramsar Wetland". Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- ^ Vanessa Mills (10 February 2011). "How Kununurra got its name". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ "Naming Kununurra - Kimberley History". sites.google.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.