Macquarie
Macquarie is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- -32.19°, 148.47°
About Macquarie
The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises in the central highlands of New South Wales near the town of Oberon and travels generally northwest past the towns of Bathurst, Wellington, Dubbo, Narromine, and Warren to the Macquarie Marshes. The Macquarie Marshes then drain into the Darling River via the lower Barwon River.
Lake Burrendong is a large reservoir with capacity of 1,190,000 megalitres (42,000×10^6 cu ft) located near Wellington which impounds the waters of the Wambuul Macquarie River and its tributaries the Cudgegong River and the Turon River for flood control and irrigation.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Macquarie River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Macquarie in Depth
Geography
From its origin the Wambuul Macquarie River flows for 960 kilometres (600 mi) and drops around 517 metres (1,696 ft) over its length. Lake Burrendong at 346 metres (1,135 ft) is the only dam along the length of the river. Windamere Dam, on the Cudgegong River, is operated in conjunction with Burrendong.
The Macquarie River starts below the locality of White Rock near Bathurst at an elevation of 671 metres (2,201 ft). It is a combination of two water systems which are the overflow from Chifley Dam which is fed by the Campbells River, and the Fish River which flows into and out of the Oberon Dam.
History
The Wiradjuri people are the original inhabitants of the area that includes the Macquarie River catchment. The Wiradjuri knew the river as the Wambool, which means "winding river". The noted Wiradjuri warrior Windradyne came from the upper Macquarie River region, and was fatally wounded from a gun shot after a man hunt was commissioned by the crown in 1829.
Also, near Brewarrina, there are at least two sites of significance to Aboriginal people along and within the river and these are Cuddie Springs and the Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps.
Cuddie Springs Archaeological Site, contains the oldest evidence of bread making in the world with some sections being dated as being 30,000 – 36,000 years old.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Macquarie River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Macquarie: Key Facts
| Length | 950 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 74,000 km² |
| Mouth | Barwon River |
| Drainage system | Murray–Darling basin |
| Tributaries | Bell River, Little River, Fish River, Turon River, Cudgegong River, Talbragar River, Castlereagh River, Campbells River |
Facts from Wikidata Q621609 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Macquarie: Quick Answers
- Where is Macquarie?
- Macquarie is located in Australia, at 32.1897° S, 148.4742° E.
- Are there dams on the Macquarie?
- No dam on the Macquarie is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.