Burdekin River

Burdekin
River
Burdekin River, 2005, taken from the Burdekin Bridge
Name origin: Thomas Burdekin
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Regions	North Queensland, Far North Queensland
Tributaries
- left	Running River, Fanning River, Kirk River
- right	Dry River (Queensland), Clarke River (Queensland), Basalt River, Broughton River (Queensland), Cape River (Queensland), Suttor River, Bowen River (Queensland), Bogie River
Settlements	Charters Towers, Home Hill
Source	Seaview Range
- location	near Ingham
- elevation	620 m (2,034 ft)
- coordinates	18°42′12″S 145°44′23″E / 18.70333°S 145.73972°E / -18.70333; 145.73972
Mouth	Coral Sea
- location	Upstart Bay
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates	19°38′49″S 147°29′14″E / 19.64694°S 147.48722°E / -19.64694; 147.48722Coordinates: 19°38′49″S 147°29′14″E / 19.64694°S 147.48722°E / -19.64694; 147.48722
Length	886 km (551 mi)
Basin	129,700 km2 (50,077 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	380 m3/s (13,420 cu ft/s)
- max	40,000 m3/s (1,412,587 cu ft/s)
- min	0 m3/s (0 cu ft/s)
Reservoir and lakes	Lake Dalrymple; Lamonds Lagoon
National park	Diamantina National Park
Location of Burdekin River mouth in Queensland

The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea at Upstart Bay over 200 kilometres (124 mi) to the southeast of the source, with a catchment area of approximately 130,000 square kilometres (50,000 sq mi). The Burdekin River is Australia's largest river by (peak) discharge volume.

The river was first encountered by Europeans during the expedition led by Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 and named in honour of Thomas Burdekin, one of the sponsors of the expedition.

The Burdekin River rises on the western slopes of the Seaview Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, west of Ingham. In the river's upper catchment, from its source the river generally flows west and then south out of the Girringun National Park, part of the UNESCO Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. This area, now part of Basalt was the location of one of the earliest inland settlements in northern Australia and was known as Dalrymple. The river is joined by Lucy Creek, the Running River, Star River and Keelbottom Creek, above Charters Towers. From the west in the Dry Tropics to the west of the river, the river is joined by the Clarke, Basalt and Dry rivers. South of Charters Towers, the upper catchment of the Burdekin River is joined by the Fanning River, and then continues to flow south through wetlands before entering Lake Dalrymple, the reservoir created by the Burdekin Dam.