Herbert River

The Herbert River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it is named after Robert George Wyndham Herbert (1831-1905), the first Premier of Queensland.

Geography

It rises at an elevation of 1070 metres on the Atherton Tableland, part of the Great Dividing Range, west of Herberton and north of Ravenshoe. Its two head streams are the Millstream and Wild River. Flowing for 340 kilometres in a generally southeastern direction, it passes the town of Ingham before entering the Coral Sea near Lucinda, at the southern end of the Hinchinbrook Channel, 130 km north of Townsville.

Its tributaries include Blunder, Sunday and Cameron Creeks, which all rise in the Cardwell Range and drain the northern portion of the river's catchment area, upstream of the Herbert River Falls. Further south the catchment is drained by Nanyeta (Return) and Rudd Creeks, which flow out of the Great Dividing Range west of Mount Garnet and from the Forty Mile Scrub area. In total, the river has a catchment of between 9,000 and 10,000 km².

Heavy rainfall causes the river level and speed of flow to rise very quickly, especially in the lower flood plain areas around Ingham.

The People and Land Use

The catchment area holds a population of about 18,000, 75% of whom dwell in the lower flood plain area.

The river's upper region is used mainly for cattle grazing, while the lower Herbert River floodplain is given over to sugar cane production ["Cane Trains in the Herbert River Valley" Stocks, I.L. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December, 1972 pp242-264] . The middle reaches of the catchment include National Parks, State Forests and sections of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

Parts of the river, especially the Herbert River Gorge stretch, are used for kayaking and white water rafting.

Recent history

The second series of American reality television series, , was filmed on the "Goshen" cattle station in the upper Herbert River region, near the Blencoe Falls and Herbert River Gorge.

See also

* Herbert River Falls

References

External links

* [http://www.fnqnrm.com.au/catchments/herbert/index.html About the Herbert River Catchment]
* [http://www.bom.gov.au/hydro/flood/qld/brochures/herbert/map.shtml Map of the Herbert River catchment from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology]
* [http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/science/state_of_rivers/herbert.html State of the rivers report for Herbert River by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water]
* [http://www.bom.gov.au/hydro/flood/qld/brochures/herbert/herbert.shtml Flood warning system for the Herbert River]