Ord River
| Ord River Miriwoong: Goonoonoorrang | |
|---|---|
Ord River from a boat | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Kimberley Plateau |
| • coordinates | 15°30′S 128°21′E / 15.500°S 128.350°E |
| • elevation | 531 m (1,742 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Cambridge Gulf, Timor Sea |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 651 km (405 mi) |
| Basin size | 55,100 km2 (21,300 mi2) 55,385 km2 (21,384 mi2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Cambridge Gulf (near mouth) |
| • average | 150 m3/s (4,700,000 ML/a) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Ord River |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Behn River, Negri River, Nicholson River |
| • right | Dunham River, Bow River, Panton River |
The Ord River is a 651-kilometre-long (405 mi) river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers 55,100 square kilometres (21,274 sq mi).
The lower Ord River and the confluence with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia.
The Ord River Irrigation Scheme was built in stages during the 20th century. Australia's largest artificial lake by volume, Lake Argyle, was completed in 1972.
The lower reaches of the river support an important wetland area known as the Ord River Floodplain, a protected area that contains numerous mangrove forests, lagoons, creeks, flats, and extensive floodplains.
The traditional owners are the Miriwoong and Gajerrong peoples who have inhabited the area for thousands of years and know the Ord River as Goonoonoorrang. In a letter to the Surveyor General, dated 12 October 1959, Louise Gardiner, Secretary of the Nomenclature Advisory Committee wrote: "'Cununurra'...means 'Black Soil'. It is the native name for Ord River. Perhaps it may be the native name for any big river, but according to Mary Durack it is definitely the name for the 'Ord'."