Macdonald River, 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 ...

that is part of the Namoi catchment within the

Murray–Darling basin The Murray–Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of the tributaries of the Murray River, Australia's longest river, and the Darling River, a right tributary of ...

, is located in the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

district of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Course and features

The river rises east of Niangala on the western slopes of the

Moonbi Range The Moonbi Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. The range is located roughly north east of the city of Tamworth situated at the bottom of the Wen ...

and

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

and flows generally north west after its

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 its major

tributary 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 drai ...

, the

Cobrabald River Cobrabald River, a mostly perennial river that is part of the Namoi catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in high country on the western slope ...

, and flows through

Warrabah National Park Warrabah is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney. It is situated west of Kingstown and east of Split Rock Dam. The major feature of the park is the Namoi River which carves a gorge that drops . Activities in the par ...

before reaching its

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 ...

, with the

Namoi River The Namoi River, a major perennial river that is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia. The Namoi River rises on the we ...

; dropping 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 ...

of . From source to mouth, the river passes through or near the villages of Woolbrook and

Bendemeer Bendemeer () is a village of 485 people on the Macdonald River in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated at the junction of the New England and Oxley Highways. Bendemeer is also famous for producing the numbe ...

Recreation and development

Trout fishing is possible in the waters of the Macdonald River, its creeks and tributaries upstream of the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, an ...

road bridge at Bendemeer. The

Namoi River snapping turtle The Namoi River snapping turtle (''Myuchelys bellii'' ), also commonly known as Bell's turtle, the Namoi River elseya, or Bell's saw-shelled turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to New South Wales, Austr ...

or Bell's turtle (''Elseya belli'') is a species of turtle found only in the upper reaches of the Namoi River,

Gwydir River Gwydir River (locally wɑe̯də, a major inland perennial river of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands, North West Slopes, and Orana districts of New South Wales, Australia. Th ...

and Macdonald Rivers. The T A Perry Bridge, that carries the New England Highway and crosses the Macdonald River, was completed in 1985, enabling a bypass of the village of Bendemeer. In November 2008, torrential rain caused severe flooding in the Macdonald River and led to the area being declared a natural disaster area.

References

External links

*
Trout and salmon fishing rules
{{coord, 30, 53, S, 151, 10, E, region:AU-NSW_type:river_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Rivers of New South Wales Murray-Darling basin

Course and features

Recreation and development

See also

References

External links