Dunham River
| Dunham River | |
|---|---|
 Overtopping of Dunham River bridge caused by Cyclone Ingrid, 2005 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • elevation | 180 metres (591 ft)[1] |
| Mouth | |
• location | Ord River |
• elevation | 31 metres (102 ft) |
| Length | 153 kilometres (95 mi)[2] |
| Basin size | 1,631 square kilometres (630 sq mi)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 261,200 ML/a (8.28 m3/s; 292.3 cu ft/s) |
Dunham River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The river rises between the Durack Range and the O'Donnell Range then flows north-west parallel with the Great Northern Highway to the east and the Bedford Stock Route to the west. The river then crosses the Great Northern Highway near Cabbage Tree Creek and continues north-west crossing the Victoria Highway and discharging into the Ord River west of Kununurra.
There are five tributaries of the Dunham; Cabbage Tree Creek, Pelican Creek, Macphee Creek, Rabbit Creek and Pumpkin Lookout Creek.
The river flows through one permanent waterhole, Flying Fox waterhole, toward the end of its journey.
The river is prone to flooding during rain events. In March 2000, the peak flow of the river was estimated at 2700 m3 s−1 during floods.[4]
The river was named in 1882 by explorer and Kimberley pioneer Michael Durack after the clergyman, Father Dunham of Brisbane, who in 1871 was the first priest to visit Cooper Creek in outback Queensland.
References
- ^ "Bonzle Digital Atlas - Map of Dunham River, WA". 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "History of river names – D". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "Western Australian Department of Water - Water Resources Data - Streamflow Sites". 2008. Archived from the original on 24 August 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "Ord river historic flows:Assessment of the impacts of regulations on flooding" (PDF). 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
16°17′8″S 128°9′16″E / 16.28556°S 128.15444°E
Rivers of Western Australia | |
|---|---|
| Rivers of the Gascoyne region | |
| Rivers of the Goldfields–Esperance region | |
| Rivers of the Great Southern region | |
| Rivers of the Kimberley region |
|
| Rivers of the Mid West region | |
| Rivers of the Peel and Perth regions | |
| Rivers of the Pilbara region | |
| Rivers of the South West region | |
| Rivers of the Wheatbelt region | |
