Jardine River

Jardine
Jardine River
Location of Jardine Rivermouthin Queensland
Etymology	FrankandAlexander Jardine
Location
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Region	Far North Queensland
Physical characteristics
Source	Great Dividing Range
• elevation	100 m (330 ft)
Mouth	Gulf of Carpentaria,Coral Sea
• location	Endeavour Strait
• coordinates	10°57′0″S142°13′50″E
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	162 km (101 mi)
Basin size	3,282 km2(1,267 sq mi) to 2,734.4 km2(1,055.8 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Near mouth
• average	82.6 m3/s (2,610 GL/a)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	McHenry River
National park	Apudthama National Park

TheJardine River,formally known asDeception River,is the largestriver of theCape York PeninsulainFar North Queensland,Australia.

Course

The headwaters of the river rise southwest of Helby Hill in theGreat Dividing Rangeand flow in a north westerly direction parallel to theMcHenry Riverthrough theApudthama National Park.The McHenry eventually discharges into the Jardine, which continues north west combining with multiple othertributariesas it flows into the flatlands of the Jardine Swamps. It eventually discharges intoEndeavour Straitnear Van Spoult Head opposite Prince of Wales Island and into the northern waters of theGulf of Carpentaria,part of theCoral Sea.

Unlike other tropical rivers inNorthern Australia,the Jardine flows all year round as the catchment receives sufficient rainfall throughout the year for it to do so.

The rivercatchmentoccupies an area of 3,282 square kilometres (1,267 sq mi) of mostly uninhabited country; some 219 square kilometres (85 sq mi) of the catchment is made up of mostly freshwater wetlands.The river has a mean annual discharge of 2,190 gigalitres (4.82×10¹¹imp gal; 5.79×10¹¹US gal).

Fauna

A total of 46 species of fish are found in the river, including sailfin glassfish, Macleay's glassfish, barred grunter, marbled eel, hardyhead, pennyfish, mouth almighty, goby, empire gudgeon, barramundi, oxeye herring, northern trout gudgeon, seven-spot archerfish and banded rainbowfish.

The Jardine River painted turtle, previously thought to have been extinct after not being sighted in the river for 20 years, was discovered in the Jardine again in 2014. A team of Apudthama Cape York rangers and scientists fromOrigin Energyhave trapped 24 of the turtles at two different locations using new trapping methods.

History

Thetraditional ownersof the area are theUnjadiandAnkamutipeoples, who have lived in the area for thousands of years.

The river is named after the explorers and pioneersFrank JardineandAlexander Jardine.The men came across the river as part of their 1864 expedition through Far North Queensland. In early 1865 the Jardines had just survived a pitched battle with the localIndigenous Australiansand had some horses drown while crossing the Batavia River. The party was low on ammunition and food when they came across a stream they thought was an escape but was not; they named it Deception River. The name was later changed by the government ofGeorge Bowento the Jardine River.

See also

• List of rivers of the Queensland