The Gulf Country is the region of woodland and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

grassland surrounding the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

in north western

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 , established_ ...

and eastern

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah. It contains large reserves of zinc, lead and silver. The Gulf Country is crossed by the

Savannah Way The Savannah Way is a route of highways and major roads across the tropical savannahs of northern Australia, linking Cairns in Queensland with Broome in Western Australia. Promoted as a self-drive tourist route, it joins Cairns, Normanton, B ...

highway.

Location and description

The Gulf Country is a block of dry savanna between the wetter areas of

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

and the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

of the Northern territory to the west and the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...

to the east, while to the south and east lie upland plains of Mitchell grasses and the

Einasleigh Uplands The Einasleigh Uplands is an interim Australian bioregion, with vegetation consisting of savanna and woodland located on a large plateau in inland Queensland, Australia. It corresponds to the Einasleigh Uplands savanna ecoregion, as identified ...

. The Northern Territory side of the area is the Gulf Fall area of sandstone slopes and gorges draining the interior uplands into the gulf. The main land uses in the Gulf Country are

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operat ...

and mining. The region covers an area of . The landscape is generally flat and low-lying tropical

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

cut through with rivers that carry the monsoon rains to the gulf and feed coastal mudflats and patches of rainforest. The

Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands is situated in the south-west corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia. History They were named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders in honour of Edward Pellew, 1st Vi ...

and the

Wellesley Islands The Wellesley Islands, also known as the North Wellesley Islands, is a group of islands off the coast of Far North Queensland, Australia, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is a locality within the Shire of Mornington local government area. The t ...

lie off the gulf coast. The main settlements in the region include the city of

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...

and the towns of Doomadgee,

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as ...

Camooweal Camooweal is an outback town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. In the , the locality of Camooweal had a population of 208 people. Geography The l ...

Kowanyama Kowanyama is a town and coastal locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama, Queensland, Australia. It is the site of the former Mitchell River Mission, founded in 1916, after the nearby Trubanamen Mission (established not far away on Tops ...

Karumba Karumba is a town and a coastal locality in the Shire of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Karumba had a population of 531 people. Geography Karumba is in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, by road from Norma ...

, Normanton and

Burketown Burketown is an isolated outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Burketown had a population of 238 people. It is located west of Cairns and west of Normanton on the Albert R ...

. The port at Karumba is one of Australia's main live cattle exporting ports. The oldest building in the region is the Burketown Hotel.

Climate

The climate is hot with a dry season and a monsoon. The dry season lasts from about April until November and is characterized by very dry southeast to east winds, generated by migratory winter high pressure systems to the south. The wet season lasts from December to March and is characterised by humid northerly monsoonal airflows. This wet season can be very erratic: at

, which is typical of the region, the rainfall of various wet seasons has ranged from as little as to as much as . Overall rainfall is low (from 750 mm on the coast to 500 mm inland) but if the wet season is at all strong, low-lying areas are flooded and even the few sealed roads are cut. The Gulf is also a breeding ground for

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

s during the period between November and April. In September and October the Morning Glory Cloud appears in the Southern Gulf. The best vantage point to see this phenomenon is in the Burketown area shortly after dawn.

History

''Jirandali'' (also known as ''Yirandali'', ''Warungu'', and ''Yirandhali'') 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 Gulf Country, particularly the

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

area. The language region includes the local government area of the Shire of Flinders, including

Dutton River Dutton River is a rural locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dutton River had a population of 33 people. Geography The ''Flinders River'' flows through from south-east to south-west. ''Dutton River'' (the watercours ...

Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes ...

, Mount Sturgeon, Caledonia,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Corfield, Winton, Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek, Lammermoor Station, Hughenden, and

Tangorin Tangorin is a rural town and locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Tangorin had a population of 58 people. Indigenous language Jirandali (also known as Yirandali, Warungu, Yirandhali) is an Australia ...

. ''

Waanyi The Waanyi people, also spelt Wanyi, Wanji, or Waanji, are an Aboriginal Australian people from south of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Language The Waanyi language, although earlier thought to be extinct, wa ...

'' (also known as ''Wanyi'', ''Wanyee'', ''Wanee'', ''Waangyee'', ''Wonyee'', ''Garawa'', and ''Wanji)'' is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country. The language region includes the western parts of

Lawn Hill Creek Boodjamulla National Park, formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park, is a national park in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site within the park. The park lies on the traditional ...

and Nicholson River, from about the boundary between the

and Queensland, westwards towards Alexandria station, Doomadgee, and Nicholson River. It includes the local government area of the

Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee The Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee is a special local government area in North West Queensland, Queensland, Australia. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the ''Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004''. Geography ...

. '' Wanamarra'' (also known as ''Maykulan'' and ''Wunumura'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in North West Queensland. The language region includes areas within the Shire of McKinlay,

Shire of Cloncurry The Shire of Cloncurry is a local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the shire is Cloncurry. Prior to ...

and

Shire of Richmond The Shire of Richmond is a Local government in Australia, local government area in north western Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1916. It is part of the Gulf Country. History ' ...

, including the

area, and the towns of

Kynuna Kynuna is an outback town in the Shire of McKinlay and a locality split between the Shire of McKinlay and the Shire of Winton in Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Kynuna had a population of 55 people. Geography Kynuna is on the ban ...

and

. ''Yukulta'' (also known as ''Ganggalida'') is an

of the Gulf Country. The Yukulta language region includes the local government areas of the

and Shire of Mornington. The first known European explorer to visit the region was the Dutch

Willem Janszoon Willem Janszoon (; ), sometimes abbreviated to Willem Jansz., was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. Janszoon served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 16031611 and 16121616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of S ...

(whose name is also written as ''Jansz'') in his 1605–6 voyage. His fellow countryman

Jan Carstenszoon Jan Carstenszoon or more commonly Jan Carstensz In Dutch patronyms ending in -szoon were almost universally abbreviated to -sz was a 17th-century Dutch explorer. In 1623, Carstenszoon was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to lead an e ...

(or ''Carstensz'') visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour of

Pieter de Carpentier Pieter de Carpentier (19 February 1586 – 5 September 1659) was a Dutch administrator of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) who served as Governor-General there from 1623 to 1627. The Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia is named after him. ...

, at that time the

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...

also explored the coast in 1644. The region was later explored and charted by

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

in 1802 and 1803. The first overland explorer in the area was the Prussian

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 ...

who traversed the area in 1844 and 1845. He was followed by

Augustus Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

of the North Australian Expedition in 1856, and then

Burke and Wills The Burke and Wills expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria in Australia in 1860–61. It consisted of 19 men led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, with the objective of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the ...

in 1861.

John McKinlay John McKinlay (26 August 1819 – 31 December 1872)
, Frederick Walker and

William Landsborough William Landsborough (21 February 1825 – 16 March 1886) was an explorer of Australia and notably he was the first explorer to complete a North-to-South crossing of Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early ...

lead separate search parties into the Gulf looking for Burke and Wills in 1861 and 1862. As pastoralists settled in the area there were significant clashes with local aboriginal populations. Historian Tony Roberts has described the nature of massacres and violent encounters in the Gulf Country in his book titled ''Frontier Justice''. The 1964 Mount Isa Mines Strike was a prolonged strike between miners and management at Mount Isa Mines.

Mining

The region is source of great mineral wealth such as copper, zinc, lead and silver.

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

includes a number of copper, lead, zinc and silver mines in Mount Isa where production began in 1931.

Century Mine Century Mine was a large open cut zinc, lead and silver mine at Lawn Hill, northwest of Mount Isa in North West Queensland, Australia. It was Australia's largest open pit zinc mine. Discovered by CRA Limited, mining was initiated by Pasminco, ...

, Australia's largest zinc mine began operations near Mount Isa in 1997 and is expected to be exhausted by 2016. Other mines in the region include

George Fisher mine The George Fisher Mine is a mine located near Mount Isa in Queensland, Australia. It is one of the largest zinc, lead and silver mines in the world. The mine is located north of Mount Isa in North West Queensland. It mine has estimated reserves ...

Cannington Mine The Cannington Silver and Lead Mine is an Australian underground mine located in north-west Queensland, in the Shire of McKinlay, about southeast of Mount Isa. The deposit was discovered by BHP in 1990.Hilton Mine.

Environmental concerns

Due to the

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

production in the town, Mount Isa has one of the most intensive

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

monitoring systems in Australia. Concerns have been raised over childhood lead contamination and air pollution within the region.

Ecology

Flora

In the Gulf Country there are no mountains to restrict rainfall to the coastal band and the transition from the coastal

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s through

Acacia stenophylla ''Acacia stenophylla'' is a species of Acacia commonly referred to as the shoestring acacia. It is an evergreen tree in the family Fabaceae native to Australia. It is not considered rare or endangered. Description ''Acacia stenophylla'' varie ...

woodlands to the arid scrubs of central Australia is gradual. There are up to nineteen important areas for bird migration in rivermouths along the gulf coast including the Gregory River- Nicholson River estuary and the

Roper River The Roper River is a large perennial river located in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Location and features Formed by the confluence of the Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, the Roper River rises east of Mataranka ...

Limmen Bight Limmen Bight is a bight, or large, open bay, located in the Northern Territory of Australia at the western end of the Gulf of Carpentaria about east of the town of Katherine. It is part of the traditional lands and waters of the Marra peopl ...

. The patches of rainforest habitat occur in parts that are less vulnerable to the grassland fires. On the savanna dicanthium bluegrass grows tall after the monsoon rains as the Gulf Country is one of the largest areas of native grassland in Australia. The sandstone gorges of the Gulf Fall are home to a specific wildlife. Finally the Pellew Islands have retained original mangroves and thick woodland..

Fauna

The area is home to a number of endangered species including an endemic rodent, the

Carpentarian rock rat The Carpentarian rock rat (''Zyzomys palatalis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Australia. Taxonomy The description of the species was published by Darrell Kitchener in 1989, emerging from a revision of the g ...

''(Zyzomys palatalis)'' and endemic reptiles such as the Carpentarian lerista

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

. The mudflats and saltpans on the coast are home to waterbirds such as the magpie goose. One endemic grassland bird the Carpentarian grasswren is suffering as changing

fire regime A fire regime is the pattern, frequency, and intensity of the bushfires and wildfires that prevail in an area over long periods of time. It is an integral part of fire ecology, and renewal for certain types of ecosystems. A fire regime describes th ...

s (the way grasses are systematically burnt and allowed to renew) are reducing their habitat.

Threats and preservation

Indarri Falls at Lawn Hill National Park

Much of the area is unspoilt vegetation but

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

of cattle and the introduction of feed grass species is changing both grasslands and wetlands while the woodlands are vulnerable to changing fire regimes. Introduced weeds include the rubber vine. Protected areas include Staaten River National Park,

Boodjamulla National Park Boodjamulla National Park, formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park, is a national park in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site within the park. The park lies on the traditiona ...

(formerly Lawn Hill), the

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

fossil finds at Riversleigh,

Camooweal Caves National Park Camooweal Caves is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 15 km southeast of Camooweal and 1720 km northwest of Brisbane. The traditional name of this place is Wiliyan-ngurru National Park. The average elevation of the terrain is 2 ...

and Mitchell-Alice Rivers National Park on the Queensland side. However the coastal wetlands are little protected. Lawn Hill crater, an

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

with a ring of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

hills, is also located in the Gulf Country. Finally

Barranyi (North Island) National Park Barranyi (North Island) National Park is in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory of Australia, 737 km southeast of Darwin. See also * Protected areas of the Northern Territory The protected areas of the Northern Territory c ...

is one of the Pellew Islands.

List of major rivers

;Top End *

Wilton River The Wilton River is a large perennial river, and tributary of the Roper River located in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It flows into the Roper River at Roper Bar, Northern Territory and the traditional owners Na ...

;Gulf Country * Cox River *

Calvert River The Calvert River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. Course The headwaters rise on a plain between the Calvert Hills and China Wall and flow northward through mostly uninhabited lands and pastoral leases such as Calvert Hills ...

* Gilbert River *

Leichhardt River The Leichhardt River is a river in north west Queensland, Australia. Course The source of the river is in the Selwyn Range under Rifle Creek Hill and fed by Rifle Creek approximately south of the mining town Mount Isa. It runs in a generally n ...

McArthur River The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the are ...

Norman River The Norman River is a river in the Gulf Country, Queensland, Australia. The river originates in the Gregory Range 200 km southeast of Croydon and flows 420 km northwest to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is joined by three major tributari ...

;Cape York Peninsula *

Archer River The Archer River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The headwaters of the river rise in the McIlwraith Range and it flows west, traversing tropical savanna plains and wetlands, ...

Mission River The Mission River is a river located in Texas, in the United States of America. It is formed by the confluence of Blanco and Medio creeks in central Refugio County (at 28°19' N, 97°19' W) and runs southeast, past Refugio, for to its mouth ...

* Mitchell River ** Alice River * Smithburne River *

Staaten River The Staaten River is a river in northern Queensland, Australia, rising in the Great Dividing Range and flowing northwest into the Gulf of Carpentaria. Location and features The river rises of the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range appr ...

Wenlock River The Wenlock River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range below Jacks Knob, west of Nundah homestead. The river ...

References

External links

Grazing in the Gulf Country
Savanna Explorer {{Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands