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The Ord River is a 320-kilometer-long river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Western Australia

Western Australia is a States and territories of Australia occupying the entire western third of the Australia . The nation's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.1 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state....
. It was named in honor of Harry Ord
Harry Ord

Major-General Sir Harry St. George Ord GCMG, Order of the Bath, Royal Engineers, was born on 4 August 1819 in North Cray, Kent, England. He was the son of Henry Gough Ord and grandson of Craven Ord, a prominent antiquarian....
, Governor of Western Australia from 1877 to 1880.

The headwaters of the Ord river are located below Mount Wells and initially flows east and around the edge of Purnululu National Park
Purnululu National Park

Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Site in Western Australia.It was declared in 1987 ...
 before heading North through Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle

Lake Argyle is Australia's second largest artificial lake , part of the Ord River Scheme, near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra, located on the Kimberley Plateau about eighty kilometres inland from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf....
 then passing west of Kununurra
Kununurra, Western Australia

Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern side of the Kimberley approximately from the Northern Territory....
 and discharging into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
 in Cambridge Gulf. The river has 35 tributaries
Tributary

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a Mainstem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water....
 of which the five longest are Bow River
Bow River (Kimberley region, Western Australia)

Bow River is a 148 km long tributary of the Ord River in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. The river was named by pastoralist Michael Durack in 1882 after a river in his homeland of County Galway, Ireland....
, Nicholson River
Nicholson River

Nicholson River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.The river rises just North of Koolerong Bore then flows south west through Nicholson and through Marella Gorge then turning North and discharging into the Ord River on the Eastern edge of Purnululu National Park near Doughboy Hill....
, Dunham River
Dunham River

Dunham River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.The river rises between the Durack Range and the O'Donnell Range then flows north west discharging into the Ord River west of Kununurra, Western Australia....
, Panton River
Panton River

Panton River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.The river rises below Alice Hill and it flows in an easterly direction before discharging into the Ord River on the southern edge of Purnululu National Park....
 and Negri River
Negri River

The Negri River is a tributary of the Lozna River in Romania....
.

Ord River Irrigation Scheme (ORIS) was constructed on the river in 1963 and opened on June 30, 1972 by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia....
 William McMahon
William McMahon

Sir William "Billy" McMahon, Order of St Michael and St George, Order of the Companions of Honour was an Australian Liberal Party of Australia politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
.






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The Ord River is a 320-kilometer-long river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Western Australia

Western Australia is a States and territories of Australia occupying the entire western third of the Australia . The nation's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.1 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state....
. It was named in honor of Harry Ord
Harry Ord

Major-General Sir Harry St. George Ord GCMG, Order of the Bath, Royal Engineers, was born on 4 August 1819 in North Cray, Kent, England. He was the son of Henry Gough Ord and grandson of Craven Ord, a prominent antiquarian....
, Governor of Western Australia from 1877 to 1880.

The headwaters of the Ord river are located below Mount Wells and initially flows east and around the edge of Purnululu National Park
Purnululu National Park

Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Site in Western Australia.It was declared in 1987 ...
 before heading North through Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle

Lake Argyle is Australia's second largest artificial lake , part of the Ord River Scheme, near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra, located on the Kimberley Plateau about eighty kilometres inland from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf....
 then passing west of Kununurra
Kununurra, Western Australia

Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern side of the Kimberley approximately from the Northern Territory....
 and discharging into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
 in Cambridge Gulf. The river has 35 tributaries
Tributary

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a Mainstem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water....
 of which the five longest are Bow River
Bow River (Kimberley region, Western Australia)

Bow River is a 148 km long tributary of the Ord River in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. The river was named by pastoralist Michael Durack in 1882 after a river in his homeland of County Galway, Ireland....
, Nicholson River
Nicholson River

Nicholson River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.The river rises just North of Koolerong Bore then flows south west through Nicholson and through Marella Gorge then turning North and discharging into the Ord River on the Eastern edge of Purnululu National Park near Doughboy Hill....
, Dunham River
Dunham River

Dunham River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.The river rises between the Durack Range and the O'Donnell Range then flows north west discharging into the Ord River west of Kununurra, Western Australia....
, Panton River
Panton River

Panton River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.The river rises below Alice Hill and it flows in an easterly direction before discharging into the Ord River on the southern edge of Purnululu National Park....
 and Negri River
Negri River

The Negri River is a tributary of the Lozna River in Romania....
.

Ord River Irrigation Scheme

The Ord River Irrigation Scheme (ORIS) was constructed on the river in 1963 and opened on June 30, 1972 by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia....
 William McMahon
William McMahon

Sir William "Billy" McMahon, Order of St Michael and St George, Order of the Companions of Honour was an Australian Liberal Party of Australia politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
. The scheme created Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle

Lake Argyle is Australia's second largest artificial lake , part of the Ord River Scheme, near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra, located on the Kimberley Plateau about eighty kilometres inland from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf....
, which is Australia's largest dam, covering an area of 741 kmē.

ORIS provides water for irrigation
Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
 to over 117 kmē of farmland and there are plans to extend the scheme to allow irrigation of 440 kmē in the future. The dam also generates power for the local community of Kununurra
Kununurra, Western Australia

Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern side of the Kimberley approximately from the Northern Territory....
.

Power generation

The Ord River Dam Hydro Scheme is a privately funded, owned and operated power system in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia
Kimberley region of Western Australia

The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert and Tanami Desert Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory....
. It consists of a new 36 MW hydro electric power station at Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle

Lake Argyle is Australia's second largest artificial lake , part of the Ord River Scheme, near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra, located on the Kimberley Plateau about eighty kilometres inland from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf....
 interconnected, by lengthy 132 kV transmission lines, with existing diesel fuelled power systems at the Argyle diamond mine
Argyle diamond mine

The Argyle diamond mine is a diamond mining located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Argyle mine is the largest diamond producer in the world by volume, although due to the low proportion of gem-quality diamonds, is not the leader by value....
 and the Kununurra township. The scheme can currently only produce 1% of the power the Snowy Mountains Scheme
Snowy Mountains Scheme

The Snowy Mountains Scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation in Australia complex in south-east Australia. The waters of the Snowy River and its tributary, the Eucumbene, are captured at high elevations and diverted inland to the Murray River and the Murrumbidgee River, through two tunnel systems driven through the Snowy Mountains....
 produces.

Environmental effects of ORIS

Construction of ORIS has limited the flow of the river to the sea, and has created environmental problems. Water is no longer clearing the mouth of the river and so the Ord River
Ord River

The Ord River is a 320-kilometer-long river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It was named in honor of Harry Ord, Governor of Western Australia from 1877 to 1880....
 is suffering a similar fate to the Murray. Salinity and erosion are also becoming an issue in the area, due to the rising of the water table in the area.

The ORIS provides irrigation to over 117 kmē of farmland and there are plans to extend this to 440 kmē in the future. Like so many other experiments in tropical agriculture the scheme initially failed because of difficulties growing crops and attack from pests. Today the irrigated areas successfully produce a variety of fruits and vegetables, with the most successful being sugar cane, bananas and melons.

Logistics of the ORIS

Sugar from the ORIS is trucked to Wyndham
Wyndham, Western Australia

Wyndham is the oldest and northernmost town in the Kimberley of Western Australia, located on the Great Northern Highway, northeast of Perth, Western Australia....
 where it is exported to a Korean-owned food manufacturing plant in Surabaya
Surabaya

Surabaya is Indonesia's List of largest cities and second largest cities by country, and the capital of the Provinces of Indonesia of East Java....
, Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
. Fruit and vegetables are sold to domestic markets and are trucked to all capital cities. The ORIS is also home to the largest commercial Indian Sandalwood
Santalum album

Santalum album is a small tropical tree of the Santalaceae family, the most commonly known source of sandalwood.This species has been utilised, cultivated and traded for many years, some cultures placing great significance on its fragrant and medicinal qualities....
 plantations in the world.

Contrary to some claims made by rail operators, the ORIS does not use the Katherine
Katherine, Northern Territory

Katherine is a town situated 320 km southeast of Darwin, Northern Territory in the "Top End" of the Northern Territory, Australia. It is the fourth largest settlement in the territory after the capital Darwin, Northern Territory, Palmerston, Northern Territory and Alice Springs....
 Intermodal Terminal to move its produce to market.

See also

  • List of rivers of Australia
    List of rivers of Australia

    This is a list of rivers of Australia. Rivers are ordered alphabetically, by state. The same river may be found in more than one state as many rivers cross state borders....
  • List of watercourses in Western Australia
    List of watercourses in Western Australia

    This is a list of watercourses in Western Australia. It includes all rivers, streams, brooks, stream, gully, anabranches, backwaters, and any other watercourses with a gazetted name....


External links

  • , 22 April, 2005
  • is leading the way in Indian Sandalwood
    Santalum album

    Santalum album is a small tropical tree of the Santalaceae family, the most commonly known source of sandalwood.This species has been utilised, cultivated and traded for many years, some cultures placing great significance on its fragrant and medicinal qualities....
     production in the ORIS.