| Gregory | |
|---|---|
 Gregory River, North West Queensland | |
  Location of Gregory Rivermouth in Queensland | |
| Etymology | In honour ofAugustus Gregory |
| Native name | Ngumarryina (Wanyi) |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Territory and State | Northern Territory,Queensland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Barkly Tableland |
| • location | Northern Territory |
| • elevation | 263 m (863 ft) |
| Mouth | Nicholson River |
• location | southwest ofBurketown,Queensland |
• coordinates | 17°53′05″S139°17′37″E / 17.88463°S 139.29368°E /-17.88463; 139.29368 |
• elevation | 11 m (36 ft) |
| Length | 321 km (199 mi) |
| Basin size | 24,179 km2 (9,336 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Nicholson River catchment |
| [1] | |
TheGregory River (Waanyi:Ngumarryina) is ariver in theNorthern Territory and thestate ofQueensland, Australia. The river is the largest perennial river inarid and semi-arid Queensland,[2][3] one of the few permanently flowing rivers in thenorthwest of Queensland.
The headwaters of the river rise on the north-eastern section of theBarkly Tableland in the Northern Territory,[4] in an area of gently undulating downs country dominated bycattle stations. The river is fed bysprings in shallow valleys[5] and it then flows eastwards through an area of well-developed canyons in Queensland. The river is joined by one of its majortributaries, the O'Shanassy River, a little downstream of Riversleigh.[6] Another main tributary Lawn Hill Creek discharges into the Gregory further downstream of Gregory Downs. The Gregory discharges into theNicholson River to the southwest ofBurketown, having descended 252 metres (827 ft) over its 321-kilometre (199 mi)course.[1]
The river has acatchment area of approximately 24,179 square kilometres (9,336 sq mi) and is part of the 52,234 square kilometres (20,168 sq mi) Nicholson River catchment.[2] The area on the Barkly Tableland is made up of dissectedlimestone-dolomite slopes, canyons and plateaus.[2]
The river has a mean annual flow of 694 gigalitres (1.53×1011 imp gal; 1.83×1011 US gal) with a minimum flow of 123 GL (2.7×1010 imp gal; 3.2×1010 US gal) recorded in 1984–85 and a maximum flow of 3,701 GL (8.14×1011 imp gal; 9.78×1011 US gal) recorded in 1973–74.[2] A number ofwetlands of national significance are found within the catchment. These include the 26,639-hectare (65,826-acre) Gregory River wetland and the 298,888-hectare (738,568-acre) Thorntonia Aggregation.[2]
In March 2023, over 500 mm of rain fell across an already wet catchment in 48 hours, leading to record flooding. The Gregory River at Riversleigh, near Lawn Hill, reached a height of 18 metres (59 ft), surpassing the 1971 flood record of 10.8 metres (35 ft) by a large margin.[7][8]
The river is surrounded by forested areas on the upper reaches, with riparian woodlands and open savannah on the plains. Grasslands are made up of Astrebla pectinate andEulalia fulca that grow on the heavy greypedocals. Fringing forest is made up of a mix ofCorymbia papuana,Eucalyptus tectifica andEucalyptus microtheca.[9]
Thetraditional owners of the river are theWaanyiAboriginal people, who call the riverNgumarryina.[10]
In 1861,William Landsborough[11] came across it during his 1861 expedition to find the lostBurke and Wills expedition.[12] Landsborough found the river while traveling from Burketown and followed it all the way to the Barkly Tableland. He named it the Gregory River in honour ofAugustus Gregory, at the time theQueensland Surveyor General and an explorer.[13]
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