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Maranoa
Downstream of the Maranoa River at Mitchell
Location of the Maranoa River mouth in Queensland
Location
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Region	South West Queensland
Physical characteristics
Source	Consuelo Tableland
Source confluence	East and West branches of the Maranoa River
• location	Carnarvon National Park
• coordinates	25°17′20″S 147°46′02″E / 25.28889°S 147.76722°E / -25.28889; 147.76722
• elevation	574 m (1,883 ft)
Mouth	confluence with the Balonne River
• location	Lake Kajarabie
• coordinates	27°50′11″S 148°36′57″E / 27.83639°S 148.61583°E / -27.83639; 148.61583
• elevation	207 m (679 ft)
Length	519 km (322 mi)
Basin size	20,039 km (7,737 sq mi)
Basin features
River system	Darling River catchment, Murray–Darling basin
Tributaries
• left	Merivale River
National park	Carnarvon National Park

The Maranoa River, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is a river situated in South West Queensland, Australia.

Course and features

Formed by the confluence of the west and east branches of the river, the Maranoa River rises on the Consuelo Tableland in the Carnarvon National Park. The valleys in the river's catchment area are broad rather than gorge-like as in the nearby Carnarvon Gorge, with isolated bluffs and pillars of sandstone on sandy plains. The Maranoa passes through Mitchell and flows south towards St George. The river reaches its confluence with the Balonne River north of St George. The Balonne eventually flows into the Darling River (via a few branches), so it contributes to the Murray-Darling Basin. From source to mouth, the Maranoa is joined by 31 tributaries including the Merivale River and descends 366 metres (1,201 ft) over its 519-kilometre (322 mi) course.

The Warrego Highway crosses the river at Mitchell.

History

The river's name was recorded by explorer Thomas Mitchell on 13 May 1846 in his Journal of an expedition into the interior of tropical Australia. The name derives from two conversations between Mitchell and local Indigenous people. The name might be corruption of the Mandandanji words mara meaning duck, and ngoa meaning egg.

The Neil Turner Weir was built on the river in 1984. It provides limited supplies for irrigation purposes. It also regulates streamflow and has recreational uses.

Major flooding on the river occurred in 1990.

Popular culture

A number of Australian folksongs (such as Sandy Maranoa and The Maranoa Drovers) refer to this river.

See also

• List of rivers of Australia § Queensland

References

1. ^ "Map of Maranoa River". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
2. "Water resources: Overview - Queensland". Australian Natural Resources Atlas. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
3. ^ "Maranoa River – river in the Shire of Balonne (entry 20891)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
4. "Mount Moffatt, Carnarvon National Park - Nature, culture and history". Department of Environment and Resource Management. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
5. Mitchell, Thomas Livingstone (1848). Journal of an expedition into the interior of tropical Australia : in search of a route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria. London, UK: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. pp. 162, 371–2. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
6. "Maranoa River". SunWater. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
7. "Flood Warning System For The Condamine-Balonne River Below Cotswold". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.

• Rivers of Queensland
• South West Queensland
• Tributaries of the Darling River