Herbert River

Herbert
River
The Herbert River flowing over the Blencoe Falls, 2006
Name origin: Robert Herbert
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Regions	Far North Queensland, Wet Tropics of Queensland
Tributaries
- left	Blunder Creek, Sunday Creek (Queensland), Cameron Creek (Queensland), Blencoe Creek, Smoko Creek, Yamanie Creek, Gowrie Creek, Elphinstone Creek
- right	Battle Creek (Queensland), Nettle Creek (Queensland), Nanyeta (Return) Creek, Rudd Creek, Flaggy Creek, Stony Creek (Queensland), Stone River
City	Ingham
Landmark	Herbert River Gorge
Source	Atherton Tableland, Great Dividing Range
Source confluence	Millstream and Wild River
- elevation	642 m (2,106 ft)
- coordinates	17°41′50″S 145°15′49″E / 17.69722°S 145.26361°E / -17.69722; 145.26361
Mouth	Coral Sea
- location	Hinchinbrook Channel
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates	18°32′16″S 146°17′21″E / 18.53778°S 146.28917°E / -18.53778; 146.28917Coordinates: 18°32′16″S 146°17′21″E / 18.53778°S 146.28917°E / -18.53778; 146.28917
Length	288 km (179 mi)
Basin	10,130 km2 (3,911 sq mi)
Waterfalls	Herbert River Falls, Blencoe Falls, Millstream Falls
National park	Lumholtz National Park
Location of Herbert River river mouth in Queensland

The Herbert River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it was named in 1864 by George Elphinstone Dalrymple explorer, after Robert George Wyndham Herbert, the first Premier of Queensland.

With its headwaters forming at an elevation of 1,070 metres (3,510 ft) on the Atherton Tableland, part of the Great Dividing Range west of Herberton and north of Ravenshoe, the Herbert River is formed by the confluence of the Millstream and the Wild River. The Herbert River flows in a generally southeastern direction through the Lumholtz National Park joined by fifteen tributaries including the Stone River and flowing past the town of Ingham. The Herbert River reaches its mouth where it enters the Coral Sea near Lucinda, at the southern end of the Hinchinbrook Channel, 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Townsville. The river descends 642 metres (2,106 ft) over its 288-kilometre (179 mi) course.

The Herbert River tributaries include the Blunder, Sunday and Cameron Creeks, which all rise in the Cardwell Range and drain the northern portion of the river's catchment area, upstream of the Herbert River Falls. Further south the catchment is drained by the Nanyeta (Return) and Rudd Creeks, which flow out of the Great Dividing Range west of Mount Garnet and from the Forty Mile Scrub area. In total, the river has a catchment of 10,130 square kilometres (3,910 sq mi).