Gilbert | |
River | |
Gilbert River crossing on the Burke Developmental Road in southwest Cape York Peninsula
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Name origin: In honour of John Gilbert | |
Country | Australia |
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State | Queensland |
Region | Far North Queensland |
Tributaries | |
- left | Langdon River, Little River (Queensland), Einasleigh River |
- right | Styx River, Percy River, Robertson River |
Source | Gregory and Newcastle Ranges, Atherton Tableland |
- location | below Conical Hill |
- elevation | 634 m (2,080 ft) |
Mouth | Gulf of Carpentaria |
- location | north of Karumba |
- elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
- coordinates | 16°32′23″S 141°16′22″E / 16.53972°S 141.27278°ECoordinates: 16°32′23″S 141°16′22″E / 16.53972°S 141.27278°E |
Length | 887 km (551 mi) |
Basin | 46,810 km2 (18,073 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
- average | 280 m3/s (9,888 cu ft/s) (extremely seasonal) |
National park | Blackbraes National Park |
Location of Gilbert River mouth in Queensland
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The Gilbert River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. When combined with the Einasleigh River, the river system is the largest river system in northern Australia.
The Gilbert River rises below Conical Hill in the Einasleigh Uplands, draining the eastern slopes of the Gregory Range and the western slopes of the Newcastle Range, north of Hughenden. The river flows generally northwest, joined by forty tributaries that drain the Blackbraes National Park including, from source to mouth, the Styx, Percy, Robertson, Langdon, Little, and Einasleigh rivers and numerous creeks. North of Karumba the Gilbert discharges into the Gulf of Carpentaria. However, northwest of Normanton an anabranch of the river forms confluence with the Smithburne River, also emptying into the Gulf. The Gilbert River has a catchment area of 22,041 square kilometres (8,510 sq mi) of which 455 square kilometres (176 sq mi), or a third of the total catchment, is a vast estuarine delta approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) wide that largely consists of tidal flats and mangrove swamps across the Gulf Country. The river descends 635 metres (2,083 ft) over its 887-kilometre (551 mi) course.