Dunham River

Dunham River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Dunham River
Overtopping of Dunham River bridge caused by Cyclone Ingrid, 2005
Location
Country	Australia
Physical characteristics
Source
• elevation	180 metres (591 ft)[1]
Mouth
• location	Ord River
• elevation	31 metres (102 ft)
Length	153 kilometres (95 mi)[2]
Basin size	1,631 square kilometres (630 sq mi)[3]
Discharge
• average	261,200 ML/a (8.28 m^3/s; 292.3 cu ft/s)

The river rises between the Durack Range and the O'Donnell Range then flows north-west parallel with the Great Northern Highway to the east and the Bedford Stock Route to the west. The river then crosses the Great Northern Highway near Cabbage Tree Creek and continues north-west crossing the Victoria Highway and discharging into the Ord River west of Kununurra.

There are five tributaries of the Dunham; Cabbage Tree Creek, Pelican Creek, Macphee Creek, Rabbit Creek and Pumpkin Lookout Creek.

The river flows through one permanent waterhole, Flying Fox waterhole, toward the end of its journey.

The river is prone to flooding during rain events. In March 2000, the peak flow of the river was estimated at 2700 m³ s⁻¹ during floods.[4]

The river was named in 1882 by explorer and Kimberley pioneer Michael Durack after the clergyman, Father Dunham of Brisbane, who in 1871 was the first priest to visit Cooper Creek in outback Queensland.

References

1. "Bonzle Digital Atlas - Map of Dunham River, WA". 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
2. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of river names – D". Retrieved 7 December 2008.
3. "Western Australian Department of Water - Water Resources Data - Streamflow Sites". 2008. Archived from the original on 24 August 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
4. "Ord river historic flows:Assessment of the impacts of regulations on flooding" (PDF). 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2009.