The Dawson River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

located in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia.

Course and features

The Dawson River rises in the Carnarvon Range, draining through the Carnarvon National Park, northwest of the settlement of Upper Dawson. The flows generally south by east, crossed by the

Carnarvon Highway Carnarvon Highway is a state highway in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, linking the township of Rolleston in Queensland's Central Highlands Region, via the town of St George, eventually to Moree in northern New South Wales. It is t ...

and then flows generally east through the settlement of where the river is crossed by the

Leichhardt Highway The Leichhardt Highway is a major transport route in Queensland, Australia. It is a continuation northward from Goondiwindi of the Newell Highway, via a section of the Cunningham Highway. It runs northward from Goondiwindi for more than 600 ki ...

. The river then flows in a northerly direction through the settlement of where the river is again crossed by the Leichhardt Highway. The river flows north through the settlement of and towards , crossed by the Capricorn Highway. A little further north, the Dawson River forms

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the Mackenzie River to form the Fitzroy River. From source to

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

, the river is joined by sixty-four

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...

, including the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

, and descends over its

course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

. Several

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s have been constructed along the river to provide water for cotton and dairy farming in the region. The river

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

covers an area of .

Expedition National Park Expedition is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 490 km northwest of Brisbane. It is named for the Expedition Range of mountains. The park is part of the Brigalow Belt bioregion. This area is mostly dominated by dry eucalyptus fore ...

and the Precipice National Park are protected areas along the Dawson River. The Dawson River was one of a number of Queensland rivers affected by the

2010–11 Queensland floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...

. As the river inundated the town of Theodore it was completely evacuated, a first in Queensland's history.

History

'' Gungabula'' (also known as ''Kongabula'' and ''Khungabula'') is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

of the headwaters of the Dawson River in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

. The language region includes areas within the local government area of

Maranoa Region Maranoa Region is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia. The town of Roma is the administrative headquarters of the region. History The Gunggari language region of South West Queensland includes the landscape within the ...

, particularly the towns of Charleville,

Augathella Augathella is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. Geography Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of Charleville, west of Roma and west of Brisbane (Queensland's capital). Th ...

and Blackall and as well as the Carnarvon Range.

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

explored the area in 1844 and named the river in honour of Robert Dawson, one of Leichhardt's financial backers. In the 1920s, shortly after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

politician

Ted Theodore Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 – 9 February 1950) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the state Labor Party. He later entered federal politics, serving as Treasurer in ...

(1884-1950) launched an irrigation program on the Dawson River for returning soldiers. His intentions was to provide them with arable land along the river for them to take up farming, thus eschewing a post-war recession. After the 1922 Irrigation Act was passed, he started irrigation schemes on the Dawson River, for an initial 8,000 new farmers. However, the scheme was abandoned after he realized the soil was unsuitable for farming and the returning soldiers had no agrarian skills.

References

{{Rivers of Queensland Rivers of Queensland Floods in Queensland Central Queensland

Course and features

History

See also

References