| Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 View inland, up the Mitchell River, at small waterfalls in between Dunbar and Koolatah stations | |
  Location of Mitchell Rivermouth in Queensland | |
| Etymology | In honour of SirThomas Mitchell[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Queensland |
| Region | Far North Queensland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Atherton Tableland,Great Dividing Range |
| • location | west ofKuranda |
| • coordinates | 16°46′42″S145°18′11″E / 16.77833°S 145.30306°E /-16.77833; 145.30306 |
| • elevation | 376 m (1,234 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Carpentaria |
• location | north ofKowanyama |
• coordinates | 15°11′47″S141°35′04″E / 15.19639°S 141.58444°E /-15.19639; 141.58444 |
• 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] | |
TheMitchell River is ariver inFar North Queensland, Australia.[1] The river rises on theAtherton Tableland about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest ofCairns and flows about 750 kilometres (470 mi) northwest acrossCape York Peninsula fromMareeba to theGulf of Carpentaria.
The river'swatershed 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 (2.5×10^12 imp gal; 3.0×10^12 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 byLudwig Leichhardt on 16 June 1845 after SirThomas Mitchell while he was on his overland expedition fromMoreton Bay toPort Essington.[1] It may have been previously named the Vereenighde River in 1623 by Dutch merchant and navigatorJan Carstensz.[1]
The Mitchell River and its tributaries have for a long time carved their way westwards through the rugged, weathered highlands of theGreat Dividing Range, carrying away sediments to be deposited in the broadfloodplains andwetlands of theGulf Savannah country.[9]
The rivers' waters "pulse" annually withmonsoonal rains, seasonally collecting water from across the localtropical rainforests in the highlands to the east; the wetsclerophyll forests in the central uplands; a variety ofwoodlands plussavannah in the western plains; annually flooding with freshwater, thetidal plains,wetlands,estuaries, andmangroves of the lower Mitchell and coastal plains.[9]
From source tomouth, the Mitchell River is joined by 34tributaries including the McLeod River, Hodgkinson River, St George River, Dry River, Little Mitchell River,Walsh River,Lynd River,Palmer River andAlice River.[5][10]
Protected areas within the Mitchell River catchment include theHann Tableland,Mitchell-Alice Rivers,Chillagoe-Mungana Caves, part ofBulleringa to the south, and most of theForty Mile Scrubnational parks.[9]
Being a large river system, the Mitchell River may contain within its catchment one of Australia's most ecologically diverse aquatic systems consisting of a rich variety of both wet and dry tropical monsoonal habitats.[9]
The catchment ecology as a whole has been generally described as follows:[9]
The vegetation in the Mitchell River Catchment area ranges from theWorld Heritage Wet Tropic rainforest on the eastern highlands to the open savannah on the western and lower Mitchell plains. The extensive mangroves and lagoon systems at the delta of the Mitchell River are recognised worldwide. The permanent waters in the upper catchment are associated with springs and water holes...
More specifically, while this ecologically diverse river system is relatively poorly studied, it is known to contain at least 18 rare, endangered or vulnerable animal species including thegolden-shouldered parrot, theGouldian finch and thenorthern bettong.[9] The mouth of the river lies in theGulf Plains Important Bird Area.[11]
The major towns in the river's catchment areKowanyama,Chillagoe,Dimbulah,Mount Carbine andMount Molloy.[12] Other smaller towns in the Mitchell River catchment includeMutchilba andAlmaden.[12]
Kunjen (also known as Koko Wanggara, Ngundjan and Olkola) is a language of Western Cape York. The Kunjen language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries ofKowanyama Community Council andCook Shire Council.[13]
Yir Yiront (also known as Yiront, Jirjoront, Yir-yiront, and Kokomindjan) is anAustralian Aboriginal language. Its traditional language region is in Western Cape York within the local government areas ofAboriginal Shire of Kowanyama andShire of Cook, in the catchments of theColeman River and Mitchell River. Following the removal of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands, it is also spoken inPormpuraaw andKowanyama.[14]
This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map".State Library of Queensland.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved30 January 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Yir Yiront".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved30 January 2020.
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