Edward River (Queensland)

For the river in New South Wales, Australia, see Edward River.
Edward
River
Name origin: Dr Edward Embley[1]
Country Australia
State Queensland
Region Far North Queensland
Tributaries
 - left Mistake Creek
 - right The Overflow, Melonhole Creek
Source Great Dividing Range
 - location Curlew Range
 - elevation 114 m (374 ft)
 - coordinates 14°34′4″S 142°56′38″E / 14.56778°S 142.94389°E / -14.56778; 142.94389
Mouth Gulf of Carpentaria
 - location Pormpuraaw
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
 - coordinates 14°51′1″S 141°35′26″E / 14.85028°S 141.59056°E / -14.85028; 141.59056Coordinates: 14°51′1″S 141°35′26″E / 14.85028°S 141.59056°E / -14.85028; 141.59056
Length 208 km (129 mi)
Basin 7,521 km2 (2,904 sq mi)
Location of Edward River mouth in Queensland
[2]

The Edward River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia.

The headwaters of the river rise in the Curlew Range in the Great Dividing Range and flow in a westerly direction. The river flows across mostly uninhabited plains country and discharges into the Gulf of Carpentaria. The mouth of the Edward River is located on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula, the eastern edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The river descends 144 metres (472 ft) over its 208-kilometre (129 mi) course.[2]

The drainage basin of the river occupies an area of 7,521 square kilometres (2,904 sq mi) of which an area of 167 square kilometres (64 sq mi) is made up of estuarine wetlands.[3]

The township of Pormpuraaw, formerly known as the remote Aboriginal community of Edward River[4] with a population of approximately 350 to 380 people,[5] is located 6.5 kilometres (4 mi) south-southeast of the river mouth.

The river was named by the surveyor, John Thomas Embley, in 1884 after his brother Dr Edward Henry Embley who worked as an anaesthetist in Melbourne.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Edward River (entry 11226)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Map of Edward River, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Edward River drainage basin". WetlandInfo. Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Pormpuraaw". Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community histories. Queensland Government. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws (ALRC Report 31): Dispute Settlement in Aboriginal Communities: Edward River (955)". Australian Law Reform Commission. Australian Government. Retrieved 23 September 2015.


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