Lynd River

The Lynd River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.

Lynd
Location of Lynd River mouth in Queensland
Etymology	In honour of Robert Lynd[1]
Location
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Region	Far North Queensland
Physical characteristics
Source	Great Dividing Range
• location	below Mount Poole
• elevation	742 m (2,434 ft)
Mouth	confluence with the Mitchell River
• location	Highbury
• coordinates	16°27′50″S 143°18′28″E
• elevation	96 m (315 ft)
Length	323 km (201 mi)
Basin features
River system	Mitchell River catchment
Tributaries
• right	Tate River
National park	Forty Mile Scrub National Park
[2]

Course and features

The headwaters of the river rise in the Forty Mile Scrub National Park in the Great Dividing Range and flows in a north westerly direction. It flows down the range and onto the plains of the Gulf Country past cattle stations such Torwood, The Lake outstation and Bulimba. Continuing north it discharges into the Mitchell River near Staaten River National Park. From source to mouth, the Lynd River is joined by twenty tributaries including the Tate River, descending 647 metres (2,123 ft) over its 323-kilometre (201 mi) course.[2] In its upper reaches, the river is crossed by the Kennedy Highway.

The Mitchell River Fan Aggregation, a 7,149-square-kilometre (2,760 sq mi) freshwater wetland area located approximately south east of Kowanyama, is fed by the Mitchell, Palmer and Lynd Rivers.[3]

Riparian vegetation found along the river include Melaleuca fluviatilis, Casuarina cunninghamiana, Pandanus spiralis and Ficus racemosa which provide most of the cover.[4]

The traditional owners of the upper catchment area are the Kunjen peoples.[5]

Etymology

The river was named in 1844 in honour of Lieutenant Robert Lynd of the 63rd Regiment of the British Army by Ludwig Leichhardt during Leichhardt's expedition from Queensland to Port Essington. Lynd was a benefactor of Leichhardt's, and assisted him both socially and financially.[1][6] William Hann also passed through the area as part of his 1872 expedition camping along the river before moving on to the Palmer River.[7]

See also

• List of rivers of the Queensland

References

1. "Lynd River (entry 20297)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
2. "Map of Lynd River, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
3. Burrows, D. W. (1 December 2004). "A review of aquatic, management issues and needs for the Northern Gulf NRM planning region" (PDF). James Cook University. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
4. Doew, John Leslie (1 December 2004). "A survey of dominant riparian vegetation at selected sites in the Georgian Area, Northern Gulf Region" (PDF). James Cook University. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
5. "Kutjal". AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database. Ausanthrop. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
6. "Ludwig Leichhardt". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 9 February 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 7 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
7. Jack, Robert Logan (1921). "Northmost Australia". Retrieved 7 June 2015 – via Project Gutenberg.