Katherine River

Katherine River is located in the Northern Territory, Australia. Its headwaters are in Nitmiluk National Park, it flows through the town of Katherine, and is a major tributary of the Daly River.

The first European explorer to see the river was John McDouall Stuart in 1862. He named it Katherine after the second daughter of expedition sponsor John Chambers.

In late January, 1998, heavy rain associated with Cyclone Les raised the level of the river by more than 20 metres and flooded a large part of Katherine town. [http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/flood6.htm Bureau of Meteorology: Katherine River Flood 1998] ] A more recent flood on 6 April 2006 caused a state of emergency to be declared. During this event the river peaked at a height of just below 19 metres at the Katherine bridge on the Stuart Highway.

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