Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox river
The Paroo River, a series of waterholes, connected in wet weather as a running stream of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the South West region of Queensland and Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the home of the Paarkantji people.
Paroo is the local Aboriginal word for the bony bream fish, which are common in the river.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Course and featuresEdit
The river rises in the gorge country of western Queensland south of the Mariala National Park, and flows generally south and spreads into the vast floodplains of New South Wales, eventually reaching the Paroo overflow lakes. Most commonly, the Paroo River terminates on the floodplain south of Wanaaring; and only reaches the Darling River in the wettest of years,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> otherwise spilling into the Paroo River Wetlands. The river is joined by forty-three minor tributaries; as it descends Template:Convert over its Template:Convert course.<ref name=bonzle/>
The Paroo River is the last remaining free-flowing river in the northern part of the Murray-Darling basin,<ref name=turnbull/> and is impounded by the natural formation of the Buckenby Waterhole, Humeburn Waterhole, Corni Paroo Waterhole, Caiwarro Waterhole, Thoulcanna Dam, Talyealye Billabong and Budtha Waterhole.<ref name=bonzle/>
WetlandsEdit
The Paroo River wetlands in north-western New South Wales are important for threatened species such as the freckled duck and the Australian painted snipe. The wetlands lie within the Paroo Floodplain and Currawinya Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance, when conditions are suitable, for large numbers of waterbirds.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 20 September 2007, Malcolm Turnbull, the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, announced that the Paroo River Wetlands in north-west New South Wales would be listed under the Ramsar Convention as wetlands of international importance, making them Australia's 65th Ramsar site.<ref name=turnbull>Template:Cite press release</ref>
Cultural referencesEdit
Henry Lawson described the ephemeral nature of the Paroo River in a poem, "The Paroo 'River'" (1894):
But soon he saw a strip of ground
That crossed the track we followed—
No barer than the surface round
But just a little hollowed.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
GalleryEdit
- Paroo River Dry-2002-05.jpg
The dry Paroo River, near Wilcannia
- Paroo R.JPG
Road sign by the Paroo River bridge, near Wilcannia
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Rivers of New South Wales Template:Rivers of Queensland Template:Rivers of the Darling River catchment Template:Rivers of the Murray–Darling basin Template:Ramsar sites in Australia Template:Authority control