Nogoa | |
Pushpin Map: | Australia Queensland |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Nogoa River mouth in Queensland |
Subdivision Type1: | Country |
Subdivision Name1: | Australia |
Subdivision Type2: | State |
Subdivision Name2: | Queensland |
Subdivision Type3: | Region |
Subdivision Name3: | Central Queensland |
Subdivision Type5: | City |
Length: | 569km (354miles) |
Source1: | Carnarvon Range |
Source1 Location: | Carnarvon National Park |
Source1 Coordinates: | -24.8606°N 147.0044°W |
Source1 Elevation: | 501m (1,644feet) |
Mouth: | confluence with Comet River, forming the Mackenzie River |
Mouth Location: | north of |
Mouth Coordinates: | -23.5558°N 148.5364°W |
Mouth Elevation: | 144m (472feet) |
River System: | Fitzroy River basin |
Basin Size: | 27690km2[1] |
Custom Label: | National parks |
Custom Data: | Carnarvon National Park, Minerva Hills National Park, Peak Range National Park, Snake Range National Park |
Extra: | [2] |
The Nogoa River is a river in Central Queensland, Australia.
The river rises on the Carnarvon Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, in the Carnarvon National Park and flows in a generally north easterly direction towards . From source to mouth, the Nogoa River is joined by 29 minor tributaries. North of the river forms confluence with the Comet River to form the Mackenzie River. The Nogoa descends over its 569km (354miles) course. The river is crossed by the Gregory and Capricorn Highways at Emerald.[2]
The river has a catchment area of draining parts of the Minerva Hills, Peak Range, Snake Range national parks. Of this area, is riverine wetlands.[1]
The reservoir created by Queensland's second largest dam,[3] Lake Maraboon was formed when the Fairbairn Dam was built on the river in 1972. The dam and a network of channels along the Nogoa River supplies water for the Emerald Irrigation Area.[4]
Sir Thomas Mitchell was the first European explorer to discover the river on 19 July 1846.[5]
In January 2008, the Nogoa River reached record flood levels. During the flood, water levels in the Fairbairn Dam rapidly exceeded 100%.[6] Within a week inundations had caused severe disruptions to graziers, crops growers and to residents of Emerald when waters broke its banks. The Nogoa peaked at 15.4m (50.5feet) in Emerald on the night of January 22 2008, causing more than 2500 people to be evacuated.[7] The unprecedented floods washed through the Ensham coal mine, temporarily halting operations in two out of six coal pits, reducing output to less than 50% and rendering a huge dragline defunct after it had been submerged.[8]
In December 2010 - January 2011 the river was impacted by major flooding at Emerald[9] and in the Nogoa's upper catchment.[10]
The traditional owners include the Gayiri people who occupied the area for tens of thousands of years before European colonisation began in the nineteenth century. The Gayiri (Kairi, Khararya) language region takes in the landscape of the Central Highlands Regional Council, including Emerald and Nogoa River.[11]