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Fitzroy River (Queensland)

 
Fitzroy River (Queensland)

 
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Fitzroy River (Queensland)
 
 
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The Fitzroy River lies in Central Queensland
Central Queensland

Central Queensland is an ambiguous geography division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton, Queensland and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, Queensland, north to Mackay, Queensland, and south to Gladstone, Que...
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. Its catchment covers an area of 150,000 square kilometres, making it the second largest river catchment in Australia, after that of the Murray Darling
Murray-Darling Basin

The Murray-Darling Basin is 3,375 km long, drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia....
 system. The river is formed by the joining of the Mackenzie
Mackenzie River (Queensland)

The Mackenzie River is a seasonal tributary of the Fitzroy River in Queensland, Australia. It is created by the intersection of the Comet and Nogoa rivers flowing into the Expedition Ranges in eastern Queensland....
 and Dawson rivers. The catchment stretches from the Carnarvon Ranges in the west to the rivermouth in Keppel Bay
Keppel Bay

Keppel Bay is a broad bay in Central Queensland, Australia at the mouth of the Fitzroy River, Queensland. Cape Keppel is at the Eastern end of the bay....
, near Rockhampton
Rockhampton, Queensland

Rockhampton is a regional city and Local Government Areas of Australia located in Queensland, Australia. Rockhampton is the largest urban centre in Central Queensland with the 2006 census recording the Rockhampton Statistical Subdivision population to be 74,530 people....
. It is bounded to the north by the Burdekin River
Burdekin River

The Burdekin River in Queensland, Australia rises on the western slope of the Seaview Range and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Upstart Bay over 200 km to the southeast of the source....
 catchment area and to the south by the Burnett River
Burnett River

The Burnett River is a river in central Queensland, Australia that empties into the Pacific Ocean near the city of Bundaberg, Queensland. The Burnett River region is largely given over to growing sugar cane....
 catchment area.

Predominant industries in the catchment are coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 mining, grazing and cotton
Cotton

Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa....
.

The lower reaches of the river are home to salt water crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile

Saltwater or estuarine crocodile is the largest of all living crocodilians and reptiles. It is found in suitable habitat throughout Southeast Asia, Northern Australia, and the surrounding waters....
s, a recently captured example (2003) being in excess of 4 metres long.






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The Fitzroy River lies in Central Queensland
Central Queensland

Central Queensland is an ambiguous geography division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton, Queensland and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, Queensland, north to Mackay, Queensland, and south to Gladstone, Que...
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. Its catchment covers an area of 150,000 square kilometres, making it the second largest river catchment in Australia, after that of the Murray Darling
Murray-Darling Basin

The Murray-Darling Basin is 3,375 km long, drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia....
 system. The river is formed by the joining of the Mackenzie
Mackenzie River (Queensland)

The Mackenzie River is a seasonal tributary of the Fitzroy River in Queensland, Australia. It is created by the intersection of the Comet and Nogoa rivers flowing into the Expedition Ranges in eastern Queensland....
 and Dawson rivers. The catchment stretches from the Carnarvon Ranges in the west to the rivermouth in Keppel Bay
Keppel Bay

Keppel Bay is a broad bay in Central Queensland, Australia at the mouth of the Fitzroy River, Queensland. Cape Keppel is at the Eastern end of the bay....
, near Rockhampton
Rockhampton, Queensland

Rockhampton is a regional city and Local Government Areas of Australia located in Queensland, Australia. Rockhampton is the largest urban centre in Central Queensland with the 2006 census recording the Rockhampton Statistical Subdivision population to be 74,530 people....
. It is bounded to the north by the Burdekin River
Burdekin River

The Burdekin River in Queensland, Australia rises on the western slope of the Seaview Range and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Upstart Bay over 200 km to the southeast of the source....
 catchment area and to the south by the Burnett River
Burnett River

The Burnett River is a river in central Queensland, Australia that empties into the Pacific Ocean near the city of Bundaberg, Queensland. The Burnett River region is largely given over to growing sugar cane....
 catchment area.

Predominant industries in the catchment are coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 mining, grazing and cotton
Cotton

Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa....
.

The lower reaches of the river are home to salt water crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile

Saltwater or estuarine crocodile is the largest of all living crocodilians and reptiles. It is found in suitable habitat throughout Southeast Asia, Northern Australia, and the surrounding waters....
s, a recently captured example (2003) being in excess of 4 metres long. The prized Australian fish, the barramundi
Barramundi

The Barramundi is a species of fish migration fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. The native species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Persian Gulf, through Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia....
, also breeds in the river.

The Fitzroy was named by Charles and William Archer on May 4, 1853 in honour of Sir Charles FitzRoy, Governor of the Colony of New South Wales
Governors of New South Wales

The Governor of New South Wales is the representative in the Australian state of New South Wales of Australia's Monarchy in Australia, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen of Australia....
, as Queensland wasn't to become a separate colony until 1859.

The city of Rockhampton is situated 40 kilometres from the coast on the river. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the city was a major port, however rocky bars in the river prevented the Fitzroy from being used for navigation any further inland. As ships became larger, the lower reaches became less viable for commercial traffic, and today only pleasure craft and small commercial fishing boats use the river. Wharves which once lined the town reach at Rockhampton have now almost all disintegrated or been removed.

Nowadays, the river has a number of dams and weirs along its length. The Fitzroy River barrage at Rockhampton provides fresh water to city and surrounds, while the Fairbairn Dam
Fairbairn Dam

Fairbairn Dam is located 25 kilometres southwest of Emerald, Queensland, almost on top of the Tropic of Capricorn line. Fairbairn Dam was constructed in 1972 across the Nogoa River "Gap" creating Lake Maraboon, and is Queensland's second largest lake....
, on the Nogoa River (a tributary), provides water for irrigating cotton and domestic use for the town of Emerald
Emerald, Queensland

Emerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census in Australia, Emerald had a population of 10,999....
.

Tributaries

Tributaries of the Fitzroy include
  • Mackenzie River
    Mackenzie River (Queensland)

    The Mackenzie River is a seasonal tributary of the Fitzroy River in Queensland, Australia. It is created by the intersection of the Comet and Nogoa rivers flowing into the Expedition Ranges in eastern Queensland....
    • Nogoa River
    • Comet River
    • Isaac River
      • Connors River
  • Dawson River
    Dawson River

    Dawson River is a river in eastern Queensland, Australia. It originates in the Carnarvon Range and flows southeast for approximately 400 miles where it meets the Mackenzie River to become the Fitzroy River, Queensland, north of Duaringa, Queensland....
    • Don River
      • Dee River


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