Roper River

The Roper River is a large perennial river located in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory of Australia.

Roper
The Goodwill on the Roper River
Roper River is located in Northern Territory
Roper River
Location of the Roper River mouth in the Northern Territory
Native nameRopa Riba (Australian Kriol)
Location
CountryAustralia
TerritoryNorthern Territory
Physical characteristics
Source confluenceWaterhouse River and Roper Creek
 • locationeast of Mataranka
 • coordinates14°55′58″S 133°08′59″E
 • elevation126 m (413 ft)
MouthLimmen Bight
 • location
Gulf of Carpentaria
 • coordinates
14°42′40″S 135°19′42″E
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length400 km (250 mi)[1]
Basin size81,794 km2 (31,581 sq mi)[2][3]
Discharge 
 • locationLimmen Bight (near mouth)
 • average158.4 m3/s (5,590 cu ft/s) to 296.9 m3/s (10,480 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationNgukurr (105 rkm; Basin size: 69,553.2 km2 (26,854.6 sq mi)
 • average253.5 m3/s (8,950 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationRed Rock (161 rkm; Basin size: 47,400 km2 (18,300 sq mi)
 • average(Period: 1966-1999)88.8 m3/s (3,140 cu ft/s)[2] to 106 m3/s (3,700 cu ft/s)[4]
 • minimum0 m3/s (0 cu ft/s)[2]
 • maximum1,395 m3/s (49,300 cu ft/s)[2]</ref>
Discharge 
 • locationMataranka (Confluence of Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, 400 rkm; Basin size: 5,950.6 km2 (2,297.5 sq mi)
 • average(Period: 1961-1999)20.5 m3/s (720 cu ft/s)[2] to 22.2 m3/s (780 cu ft/s)[4]
 • minimum0.7 m3/s (25 cu ft/s)[2]</ref>
 • maximum182.5 m3/s (6,440 cu ft/s)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftWaterhouse, Chambers, Maiwok Creek, Flying Fox Creek, Jalboi, Wilton, Phelp
 • rightRoper Creek, Elsey Creek, Strandways, Hodgson, Mountain Creek
National parkElsey National Park
[5]

Location and features

Formed by the confluence of the Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, the Roper River rises east of Mataranka in the Elsey National Park and flows generally east for over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) to meet the sea in Limmen Bight on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The river is joined by fifteen tributaries including the Chambers, Strangways, Jalboi, Hodgson and the Wilton Rivers. The river descends 126 metres (413 ft) over its 1,010-kilometre (630 mi) course[5] and has a catchment area of 81,794 square kilometres (31,581 sq mi), which is one of the largest river catchment areas in the Northern Territory.[2] The Roper River is navigable for about 145 kilometres (90 mi), until the tidal limit at Roper Bar, and forms the southern boundary of the region known as Arnhem Land. Mataranka Hot Springs and the township of Mataranka lie close to the river at its western end. Port Roper lies near its mouth on Limmen Bight.

The river has a mean annual outflow of 5,000 gigalitres (1.1×1012 imp gal; 1.3×1012 US gal).[6]

Etymology

The first European to explore the Roper River was Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 as he made his way from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. Leichhardt crossed the river at Roper Bar, a rocky shelf which conveniently lies at the high tide limit on the river. He named the river after John Roper, a member of the expedition.[7]

Tributaries

The largest tributaries of the Roper River:[2][3][4][5]

Left

tributary

 Right

tributary

 Length

(km)

 Basin

size

(km2)

 Average

discharge

(m3/s)

Roper 400* 81,794 296.9
Phelp 123 5,305 40
Mountain Creek 633.6 3.65
Hodgson 230 14,109 89.6
Wilton 225 12,694 85
Jalboi 90 2,271 8.6
Flying Fox Creek 178 3,037 12
Maiwok Creek 167 2,770 10.2
Strangways 185 6,142 18
Chambers 70 1,051 4.1
Elsey Creek 21,210 23.8
Waterhouse 199 3,649 14.8
Roper Creek 110 2,108.7 7.4

*Roper River (400 km (250 mi)[1] with Waterhouse River (199 km (124 mi)[5] is 599 km (372 mi) long; Roper River with the Roper Creek (110 km (68 mi)[5] is 510 km (320 mi) long;

Roper River Mission
Further information: Ngukurr

The Roper River Mission was established by the Church of England Missionary Society in 1908. After it was closed in 1968, the government took over management of the community.[8] In 1988, control of the town was handed to the Yugul Mangi Community Government Council, and the township was renamed Ngukurr.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Roper River".
  2. "Overview of the Roper River Catchment" (PDF). Roper River Catchment: An Assessment of the Physical and Ecological Condition of the Roper River and its Major Tributaries. Northern Territory Government, Department of Land Resource Management. January 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. "Roper River Catchment" (PDF).
  4. "Darwin-Arnhem".
  5. "Map of Roper River, NT". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  6. "Roper River" (PDF). TRaCK. 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  7. "Roper, John (1822–1895)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. 1976. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  8. "Profile". Northern Territory Government. Dept of Community Welfare. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  9. "Roper River Mission - Place". National Centre for Indigenous Genomics. The Australian National University. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2020.


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