Mitchell River (Western Australia)
Encyclopedia
Mitchell River is a river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

.

The river rises north east of Sharp Hill and flows in a north westerly direction until discharging into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 via Walmsley Bay near Port Warrender.

The best known feature of the river is Mitchell Falls located within the Mitchell River National Park
Mitchell River National Park (Western Australia)
Mitchell River National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia , northeast of Perth. The park adjoins the northern boundary of the Prince Regent Nature Reserve. The nearest towns are Derby which is to the southwest and Wyndham which is to the southeast...

, a three tiered series of drops with a combined height of nearly 80 metres.

The river was named after Sir James Mitchell
James Mitchell (Australian politician)
Sir James Mitchell GCMG was the 13th Premier of Western Australia, serving on two occasions, the Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia for 15 years and the 22nd Governor of Western Australia....

 the Premier of Western Australia
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...

 by surveyor W.R. Eastman in 1921.

Nine species of freshwater fish
Freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are fish that spend some or all of their lives in freshwater, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 0.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, the most obvious being the difference in levels of salinity...

 are known to inhabit the waters of the Mitchell River.

There is another Mitchell River located in Western Australia that is a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Hay River
Hay River (Western Australia)
The Hay River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.The river is part of the Denmark catchment along with the Denmark River and the Sleeman-Cuppup River...

in the south of the state.
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