The King George River is a
perennial river
A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abse ...
located in the
Kimberley region of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
.
Location and features
The headwaters of the river rise to the west of the Ashton Range and flow in a northerly direction through the
Drysdale River National Park
Drysdale River National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, northeast of Perth.
The park lies about south of Kalumburu and west of Wyndham.
The park is the largest and least accessible in the Kimberley, w ...
past the Seppelt Range, joined by one minor tributary before
reaching its
river mouth and emptying into
Koolama Bay and the
Timor Sea
The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia.
The sea contains a number of reefs ...
, approximately east of . The river descends over its
course,
[ including a descent over the dual drop ]waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
of King George Falls, approximately upriver from the river mouth. The falls are located at an elevation of above sea level.
The recorded height of the waterfall varies widely, with some sources claiming the descent is in the range of .[ The area surrounding the falls are popular with tourists, who typically view the falls by boat.][ The falls were featured in ]Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...
's 2008 film, ''Australia''.
Etymology
The river was named in 1911 by explorer Charles Conigrave after a privately funded expedition in the area. The river is named in honour of King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
.traditional owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...
of the areas around the river are the Miwa people
The Miwa are an indigenous Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Name
'Miwa' in this area of the Kimberley region is used in the sense of 'salt water/sea', indicating peoples near or on the coast. Three different group ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
{{Australian Waterfalls , state=autocollapse
Rivers of the Kimberley region of Western Australia