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27-679: The Diamantina River is a major river in Central West Queensland and the far north of South Australia . The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (née Roma), wife of Sir George Bowen , the first Governor of Queensland. It has three major tributaries the Western River , Mayne River and Farrars Creek. Rising north-west of Longreach in the Swords Range in Queensland,

54-407: A high content of expansive clay minerals, many of them belonging to the montmorillonites that form deep cracks in drier seasons or years. In a phenomenon known as argillipedoturbation , alternate shrinking and swelling causes self-ploughing , where the soil material consistently mixes itself, causing some vertisols to have an extremely deep A horizon and no B horizon . (A soil with no B horizon

81-410: A series of wide and relatively shallow channels. The major feature of the river's sluggish course is Diamantina National Park about halfway between Winton and Birdsville. Apart from the national park, almost all land in the basin is used for grazing cattle and sheep , though numbers fluctuate greatly and considerable skill is required on the part of graziers. The variable drought and flood cycles of

108-544: Is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers 396,650.2 km . The region lies to the north of South West Queensland and south of the Gulf Country . It has a population of approximately 12,387 people. As of 2018, it is one of 16 Aged Care Planning Regions (ACPR) in Queensland. The first exploration by Europeans was by Major Thomas Mitchell who passed through the area in 1846. Mitchell

135-616: Is abundant the grasses within the basin are extremely nutritious, especially in the lower reaches of the river around Birdsville, which is a primary region for cattle fattening in years when rainfall further north is adequate to flood the region. The 3,400-square-kilometre (1,300 sq mi) floodplain of the lower reaches of the Diamantina has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it has been estimated to support at least 450,000 waterbirds when in flood, as well as globally significant numbers of

162-486: Is available, crops such as cotton , wheat , sorghum and rice can be grown. Vertisols are especially suitable for rice because they are almost impermeable when saturated. Rainfed farming is very difficult because vertisols can be worked only under a very narrow range of moisture conditions: they are very hard when dry and very sticky when wet. However, in Australia, vertisols are highly regarded, because they are among

189-808: Is called an A/C soil ). This heaving of the underlying material to the surface often creates a microrelief known as gilgai . Vertisols typically form from highly basic rocks, such as basalt , in climates that are seasonally humid or subject to erratic droughts and floods , or that impeded drainage. Depending on the parent material and the climate, they can range from grey or red to the more familiar deep black (known as "black earths" in Australia, "black gumbo" in East Texas, "black cotton" soils in East Africa, and "turf soil" or "vlei soils" in South Africa). Vertisols are found between 50°N and 45°S of

216-432: Is currently lacking as to the cause, but it is believed likely that the anomaly was caused by an asteroid strike that happened about 300 million years ago. The climate of the basin is hot and arid . In January, temperatures throughout the basin average around 37 °C (99 °F) during the day and decline only to about 24 °C (75 °F) at night. In winter, they typically range from 25 °C (77 °F) during

243-517: The nankeen night-heron , royal spoonbill , little curlew , Australian bustard , grey grasswren , inland dotterel , cinnamon quail-thrush and pied honeyeater . The river is ephemeral but floods periodically following heavy rainfall events in the catchment. During the floods of 1940 the mailman, Harry Ding, completed his round using a motorboat and Cooper Creek was measured at around 43 kilometres (27 mi) wide. In 1950 flooding covered some 7,770 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi), with

270-452: The annual averages and variability at Winton and Kynuna are almost alike, the actual totals at the two stations can differ by as much as 200 mm (7.9 in) in some years due to isolated very heavy rainfalls. The soils in the region are mainly grey and brown vertisols , with some fluvents in the drier areas. Although they do not have high phosphate contents, they have adequate levels of most other nutrients: consequently when rainfall

297-816: The area include the Channel Country . Part of the Cooper Basin is located in the region. The basin contains the most significant on-shore petroleum and natural gas deposits in Australia. At the federal level the region partly falls in the Division of Maranoa and the Division of Kennedy . Local government areas included in the region are Shire of Barcoo , Shire of Diamantina , Shire of Boulia , Shire of Winton , Longreach Region , Blackall-Tambo Region and Barcaldine Region . The Diamantina River's hook-shaped upper reaches have drawn scientific attention. In March 2015, Geoscience Australia reported that

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324-416: The area make the river ephemeral with many semi-permanent waterholes. The highest recorded flow rate of the river was at Birdsville in 1974 with 4,700 cubic metres per second (170,000 cu ft/s) was measured. The Diamantina runs along the northern and eastern rim of a roughly circular zone measuring some 130 km across that has been identified by Geoscience Australia as a crustal anomaly . Proof

351-400: The basin of the Diamantina is very flat—even the highest points in the northeast do not reach 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level and Lake Eyre itself is 16 m (52 ft) below sea level. Apart from a few streams near Winton (the largest town in the basin) almost all rivers in the basin flow southwestwards towards Birdsville . The Diamantina River has no main channel, rather it is

378-404: The day to 11 °C (52 °F) at night. On occasions, however, frost has been reported in all areas of the basin: Winton has recorded minima as low as −1.8 °C (28.8 °F). Rainfall is heavily concentrated between December and March: averages for these four months range from 310 mm (12 in) at Winton and Kynuna to around 90 mm (3.5 in) at Birdsville. In the rest of

405-582: The eastern coast of Australia. The Central railway line reached Longreach in 1892. Today, the Spirit of the Outback is a long-distance passenger rail service operating from Brisbane to Longreach. The region is serviced by six airports, including Longreach Airport , Winton Airport , Windorah Airport , Barcaldine Airport , Aramac Airport and Blackall Airport . Through a series of powerful transmitters and less powerful repeater stations located throughout

432-675: The equator. Major areas where vertisols are dominant are eastern Australia (especially inland Queensland and New South Wales ), the Deccan Plateau of India, and parts of southern Sudan , Ethiopia , Kenya , Chad (the Gezira ), South Africa, and the lower Paraná River in South America. Other areas where vertisols are dominant include southern Texas and adjacent Mexico , central India , northeast Nigeria , Thrace , New Caledonia and parts of eastern China. When irrigation

459-406: The few soils that are not acutely deficient in available phosphorus . Some, known as "crusty vertisols", have a thin, hard crust when dry that can persist for two to three years before they have crumbled enough to permit seeding. The shrinking and swelling of vertisols can damage buildings and roads, leading to extensive subsidence. Vertisols are generally used for grazing of cattle or sheep . It

486-578: The northern part of the basin, annual rainfalls as high as 1,100 mm (43 in) were reported in 1894, 1950, 1974 and 2000, whilst even in Birdsville annual totals as high as 550 mm (22 in) have been reported. During floods the river can be as wide as 30 km (19 mi) across. In dry years such as 1902, 1905, 1928, 1961, 1965 and 2002, almost the whole basin reported totals 100 mm (3.9 in). There can also be significant variation from station to station over small areas: although

513-482: The region include Scarrbury and Collingwood , both of which have vanished without a trace. There is also the depopulated town of Middleton , with only a handful of inhabitants. Waterways coursing through Central West Queensland include the Barcoo River , Georgina River , Diamantina River , Thomson River , Burke River , Hamilton River and Cooper Creek . A number of national parks have been declared in

540-623: The region, including Simpson Desert National Park , Cudmore National Park , Diamantina National Park , Astrebla Downs National Park , Welford National Park , Goneaway National Park , Lochern National Park and Bladensburg National Park . Major roads in the region include the Capricorn Highway and the Landsborough Highway . In the north of the region, the Kennedy Highway leads from Boulia to Cairns on

567-501: The river described as a raging torrent 48 kilometres (30 mi) wide. Karuwali (also known as Garuwali, Dieri) is a language of far western Queensland. The Karuwali language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Diamantina Shire Council , including the localities of Betoota and Haddon Corner . Central West Queensland Central West Queensland (abbreviated CWQ )

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594-763: The river flows in a south-westerly direction through central Queensland and the Channel Country to form the Warburton River at its confluence with the Georgina River . In extremely wet years, the Warburton River flows as far as Lake Eyre . The length of the Diamantina River is approximately 900 km (560 mi), and the basin is approximately 157,000 square kilometres (61,000 sq mi), of which 140,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) are used for agriculture. Most of

621-511: The river's course at and near its headwaters flows along the edge of a roughly circular crustal anomaly that might well be an impact structure . It is 130 km in diameter and lies some 60 km west of Winton ; Middleton and Dagworth Station lie right in it. The asteroid impact , if indeed this is the explanation for the anomaly, would have happened roughly 300 million years ago. Major towns of Central West Queensland include Longreach , Winton , Blackall and Barcaldine . Barcaldine

648-425: The vast region, Central West Queensland is serviced by the local ABC radio station ABC Western Queensland along with commercial stations 4LG and West FM , both owned by Resonate Broadcasting . The Central West's local newspaper is The Longreach Leader , published weekly. 23°00′S 145°00′E  /  23.000°S 145.000°E  / -23.000; 145.000 Vertisol Vertisols have

675-477: The year rainfall is very scanty and only on the rarest occasions are significant falls reported: throughout most of the basin the average rainfall between May and September totals around 40 mm (1.6 in). However, the rainfall of the basin, as with all of the Lake Eyre Basin , is exceedingly erratic and catastrophic droughts and floods tend to be the normal state of affairs throughout this region. In

702-523: Was near Isisford on the Barcoo River when his party was lacking supplies and threatened by Aboriginals. He then decided to return to Sydney, completing a successful expedition which had explored a large area of unknown country. The eastern extent of the Simpson Desert lies within the region. Haddon Corner and Poeppel Corner on the Queensland border are also located here. Bioregions in

729-726: Was the location for the 1891 Australian shearers' strike , one of Australia's earliest and most important industrial disputes. The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame is a museum located in Longreach which pays tribute to pioneers of the Australian outback . The building was completed in 1987 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 29 April 1988. Smaller towns in the region include Bedourie , Birdsville , Boulia , Urandangi , Ilfracombe , Isisford , Yaraka , Jundah , Stonehenge , Windorah , Alpha , Aramac , Jericho , Tambo and Muttaburra . The ghost town of Betoota has been designated as Australia's smallest town. Other ghost towns in

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