Roper River

Roper
River
The Goodwill on the Roper River
Country Australia
Territory Northern Territory
Tributaries
 - left Chambers River, Jalboi River
 - right Strangways River, Hodgson River
Source confluence Waterhouse River and Roper Creek
 - location east of Mataranka
 - elevation 126 m (413 ft)
 - coordinates 14°55′58″S 133°08′59″E / 14.93278°S 133.14972°E / -14.93278; 133.14972
Mouth Limmen Bight
 - location Gulf of Carpentaria
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
 - coordinates 14°42′40″S 135°19′42″E / 14.71111°S 135.32833°E / -14.71111; 135.32833Coordinates: 14°42′40″S 135°19′42″E / 14.71111°S 135.32833°E / -14.71111; 135.32833
Length 1,010 km (628 mi)
Basin 81,794 km2 (31,581 sq mi)
Discharge
 - average 158.4 m3/s (5,594 cu ft/s)
National park Elsey National Park
Location of the Roper River mouth
in the Northern Territory
Wikimedia Commons: Roper River
[1]

The Roper River is a large perennial river located in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia.

Location and features

Formed by the confluence of the Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, the Roper River rises east of Mataranka in the Elsey National Park and flows generally east for over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) to meet the sea in Limmen Bight on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The river is joined by fifteen tributaries including the Chambers, Strangways, Jalboi, Hodgson and the Wilton Rivers. The river descends 126 metres (413 ft) over its 1,010-kilometre (630 mi) course[1] and has a catchment area of 81,794 square kilometres (31,581 sq mi), which is one of the largest river catchment areas in the Northern Territory.[2] The Roper River is navigable for about 145 kilometres (90 mi), until the tidal limit at Roper Bar, and forms the southern boundary of the region known as Arnhem Land. Mataranka Hot Springs and the township of Mataranka lie close to the river at its western end. Port Roper lies near its mouth on Limmen Bight.

The river has a mean annual outflow of 5,000 gigalitres (1.100×1012 imp gal; 1.321×1012 US gal).[3]

Etymology

The first European to explore the Roper River was Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 as he made his way from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. Leichhardt crossed the river at Roper Bar, a rocky shelf which conveniently lies at the high tide limit on the river. He named the river after John Roper, a member of the expedition.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Map of Roper River, NT". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Overview of the Roper River Catchment" (PDF). Roper River Catchment: An Assessment of the Physical and Ecological Condition of the Roper River and its Major Tributaries. Northern Territory Government, Department of Land Resource Management. January 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Roper River" (PDF). TRaCK. 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Roper, John (1822–1895)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. 1976. Retrieved 1 May 2015.


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