The Roper River is a large perennial river located in the Katherine Region of the Northern Territory of Australia.
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 to meet the sea in
Limmen Bight on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The river is joined by fifteen
tributary, including the Chambers, Strangways, Jalboi, Hodgson and the
Wilton River Rivers. The river descends over its
[ and has a drainage basin of , which is one of the largest river catchment areas in the Northern Territory.]
The river has a mean annual outflow of .
Annual flooding is essential for the health of its nationally significant coastal wetlands and seagrass beds of Limmen Bight, that are habitat for and , as well as the barramundi, and that are fished recreationally and commercially.
History
The traditional owners of the Roper River are the Ngalakgan, Alawa people, Mangarayi, Ngandi language, Marra people, Warndarrang, Nunggubuyu, Ritharrngu-Wagilak and Rembarrnga peoples.
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 stating: "I found myself on the banks of a large fresh water river from 500 to 800 yards broad, with not very high banks... it was the river Mr Roper has seen two days before, and I named it after him, as I had promised to do."
Tributaries
The largest tributaries of the Roper River:[
]|
| Roper | 400* | 81,794 | 296.9 |
| Phelp | | 123 | 5,305 | 40 |
| | Mountain Creek | | 633.6 | 3.65 |
| Hodgson River | 230 | 14,109 | 89.6 |
| Wilton River | | 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 River | 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 ([ is long; Roper River with the Roper Creek (][ is long;
]
Roper River Mission
The Ngukurr 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.
See also
-
List of rivers of Northern Territory
