Honeymoon Tours Travel

FITZROY RIVER

Location : WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA

Length of Fitzroy River and its tributaries : 3,032 mi (4,880 km)

Age of reef complexes : up to 350 million years

Vegetation : open savanna and wetland

The Fitzroy River is among Australia's largest rivers and cuts through the 350-million-year-old Devonian Reef complexes to form the Kimberley's famous gorges. Together with the nearby Ord River, the mighty Fitzroy carries the largest volume of water of any river in Australia. When in flood, the Fitzroy is an awesome sight, with an annual average flow that would cover the whole of Australia in three feet (0.9 meters) of water. The Fitzroy's meandering and interconnecting channels are up to 40 feet (12 meters) deep; they sweep through the heart of the ancient Kimberley and encompass the internationally recognized Camballin Floodplain system of wetlands and swamps. Some 67 species of waterbird have been recorded on the extensive black soil floodplain adjoining the Fitzroy. Nineteen of them are listed on the JAMBA and CAMBA treaties that help protect migratory birds. The Fitzroy basin—including the Fitzroy, Mackenzie, Dawson, Connors, and Isaac rivers—is the only known habitat for the reclusive Fitzroy River turtle. A species famous for its method of respiration, it is capable of breathing through its bottom, leading to its nickname "the bum breathing turtle."