The Wonnangatta 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 ...

of the Mitchell River catchment, located in the

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and

East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres (14%) of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: East Gippsland (St ...

regions of the Australian state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Features and location

The Wonnangatta River rises below Mount Despair, part of the Great Dividing Range, east of in a remote state forestry protected area, called the Wonnangatta River Reference Area. The river flows generally south by east, in a highly meandering course, joined by eleven

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 drainag ...

including the Dry, Humffray, Moroka, Wongungarra and Dargo rivers, before reaching its confluence with the

Wentworth River The Wentworth River is a river of the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows northeast from the Coromandel Range to reach the Bay of Plenty at Whangamatā. See also *List of rivers of New Zealand ...

and Swamp Creek to form the Mitchell River north of the Mitchell River National Park, in the

Shire of East Gippsland The Shire of East Gippsland is a local government area in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 46,818. It includes the towns of Bairnsdale, Benambra ...

. The river descends over its course. At the locality of Riverford, the Dargo Road traverses the river.

Etymology

In the Aboriginal Braiakaulung dialect of the

Gunai language The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai ( ) language, also spelt Gunnai, Kurnai, Ganai, Gaanay, or Kurnay ) is an Australian Aboriginal dialect cluster of the Gunaikurnai people in Gippsland in south-east Victoria. Bidawal was either a divergent di ...

, there are two variant names for the Wonnangatta River; ''Wontwun''; and ''WonnangaUa''. Their meanings are not clearly defined.

References

External links

* * East Gippsland catchment Rivers of Gippsland (region) Rivers of Hume (region) Victorian Alps {{VictoriaAU-river-stub