The Alberga River, also known as the Alberga Creek, is an ephemeral river that is part of the

Lake Eyre basin The Lake Eyre basin ( ) is a drainage basin that covers just under one-sixth of all Australia. It is the largest endorheic basin in Australia and amongst the largest in the world, covering about , including much of inland Queensland, large porti ...

located in the Far North region of the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Course and features

The river rises near , north of the

Oodnadatta Track __NOTOC__ The Oodnadatta Track is an unsealed outback road in the Australian state of South Australia, connecting Marla in the north-west via Oodnadatta to Marree in the south-east. Along the way, the track passes the settlements of Oodnadatta ...

and about northwest of the town of

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback roa ...

and northeast of . The Alberga generally flows east by south, joined by eight minor tributaries and three waterholes before reaching its confluence with the

Macumba River Macumba River (Arabana: ''Maka-Wimpa''; Arrernte: ''Ura-Ingka''), once known as Treuer River, is an ephemeral freshwater stream in the far north of South Australia, that is part of the Lake Eyre Basin. Course and features The river rises at th ...

near the town of . The river descends over its course. The river is crossed by

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' is an experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor. O ...

near its source.

History

European history

The Alberga River was discovered on 23 March 1860 by John McDouall Stuart who considered it to be a branch of the

Neales River The Neales River is a watercourse located in the Far North region of the Australian state of South Australia. The river is a tributary of Lake Eyre. The Central Australia Railway, on which The Ghan passenger train operated until 1980, crossed ...

. The river was named by William Christie Gosse in 1873. It is also known as Alberga Creek. It was a junction between the central and southern sections on the Australian Overland Telegraph Line between the coasts of Australia. The southern section, between Port Augusta and Alberga Creek, was contracted to Edward Meade Bagot in 1870. The overland telegraph was completed on 22 May 1872.

References

{{Rivers of South Australia, state=autocollapse Rivers of South Australia Far North (South Australia) Lake Eyre basin

Course and features

History

European history

See also

References