Many people far from geography believe that the driest and most waterless continent on Earth is Africa with its illustrious deserts. However, this is the deepest error. The distant and mysterious Australia, of course, is much smaller than Africa and is less likely to appear in international news, however, it takes the first place in terms of aridity. Precipitation on its territory is 5 times less than that of Africa.
At the same time, rivers and lakes must be nourished with something, and from somewhere to receive new water instead of the one that evaporated from their surface. The main source of replenishment of evaporated water for most rivers in the world is rains and melting snow, and it is a problem with precipitation in Australia. So this continent does not have really big rivers, especially those that could be called high-water ones.
Location of Australian Rivers
However, if this mainland island was absolutely waterless, it would hardly have boasted at least some animals and vegetation, and people would not have mastered it. So there are ponds here.
Another thing is that the rivers of Australia are mostly concentrated in the south-east of the country. Most of the rains that fall to the mainland are shed here. That is why all the major rivers of Australia flow here, among which the main one is the Murray, besides with the accompanying tributary Darling. This system begins with mountain peaks, called the Great Dividing Range, and despite the arid climate, it never completely dries up. This is due to the fact that Murray is fed not only by rainwater, but also by snows that have chosen the tops of the specified ridge and are melting regularly at the right time. It is this watercourse that can be called full-flowing and navigable, because it (and this is unlike the other rivers of Australia) is accessible even for rather heavy vessels all year round. Recall: this is by no means characteristic of the described part of the land.
It should be clarified that Murray’s navigability, although it belongs to the “large rivers of Australia” category, concerns only the lower thousand kilometers (despite the fact that the total length of the river is more than two and a half thousand). And Murray is inaccessible for deep-seated ships: it abounds in sandy shoals, and it is precisely the mouth that blocks them. So ships with low draft cannot enter it.
Features of Australian Rivers
As everyone who knows at least something from the lessons of geography knows, all the rivers of the world must flow somewhere. This is usually the sea or the ocean. But the rivers of Australia have distinguished themselves here. Most of the available water bodies have no runoff to the ocean. Moreover, they can generally be called a variable value. The vast majority of the water arteries on this continent are the drying rivers of Australia. That is, they are filled with water during brief, but heavy rains, they flood, flooding the surroundings, and again become dry channels.
Equally interesting is that some of Australia’s major rivers and lakes (especially the latter) contain salt water. Actually, we can say that on this continent the problem is not with water, but with its fresh variety.
Darling River
This aquatic artery is a cross between Murray and the rest of the rivers. It does not have an additional “power” in the form of melting snow caps - its source is located much north of the “big brother”. Like the rest of Australia's rivers, Darling is on a "dry rations" and mainly renews its waters through precipitation. However, this is a fairly large waterway, which also has underground power sources. So in the dry months this river becomes much shallower, but does not dry out completely.
Australian screams
By this word is meant by no means loud sounds made by any living creature. This is the name of small and, one might say, temporary rivulets (streams) that exist in the rainy season and are completely dry in the heat months. They are peculiar to desert areas within the mainland, the most famous of them is Cooper Creek. It is impossible to say that screams are equal rivers of Australia, but they play their part in its existence.
Lake system
There are very few lakes in Australia. Not only that, as already mentioned, they are salty. The largest Australian lake with the name Air is also not fresh. All such water bodies represent the former inland sea in Australia. All of them are below sea level, so it is not surprising that they are not encouraging with fresh waters. The rivers and lakes of Australia are closely related. It is river flowing waters that feed on lakes, and since there are not enough of them, these reservoirs also dry up. That is why the coastal lake line does not have a clear outline. In the dry season, Australian lakes are more like our clay quarries. And even the largest lake in Australia (Air) in the hot months breaks up into a large number of small ponds.
Overview of Australian Lakes
Air, as was said, is the largest of them. In the rainy season, it is filled with water, in the deepest place its bottom drops by 15 meters. This lake is closed. Water is removed from it only by evaporation. This does not apply to rare but heavy showers, during which Eyre can even come ashore and flood the surroundings. It should be noted that the large rivers and lakes of Australia are tightly interconnected, and without the first, the second long years (or even decades) stand in empty bowls.
The next largest lake is Torrens. It also does not have a drain, located in southern Australia. It is unique in that over the past century and a half it was only once filled with water. It is a national park, so you can “visit” it only by special permission.
Also in the south, the same salt and also lacking runoff Lake From. However, nearby is one of the cries (with the unpronounceable name Strzecki), so this body of water has much more water than the previous one.
In the northeast of Western Australia there is almost the only fresh lake Gregory. Scientists, however, suspect that drought will affect it over time, as well as other rivers and lakes in Australia, that is, it will become salty and will rarely be filled with water. So far, Gregory is the most lived-in and richest in flora and fauna Lake Autrasralia (thanks to freshwater).
Man-made lake
Western Australia also boasts an artificial pond named Argyle. At the expense of it live and feed the Australians 150 kilometers of agriculture. Fishing is good here: unlike other Australian lakes, there are a lot of fish, among which there are valuable breeds, including sleepy cod (it is loved by fishermen and fish lovers more than others), barramundi and bony bream. And in general, there are as many as 26 species of fish, which for this continent can be considered a kind of achievement. True, fishing (and just walking) along the shores of Argyll should be very careful: 25 thousand crocodiles are a good reason for vigilance.
Of course, many lovers of scale may not be impressed: Australia's large rivers and lakes are probably not as magnificent as they would like. But do not forget that Australia itself is small (when compared with the continents).
List of Australian Rivers
To be honest, the list of everything that can be classified as “rivers of Australia” on the map has 70 points. However, it is hardly worth paying attention to Prospect Creek, which flows only for 17 kilometers, or Lane Cove, which does not reach this distance (its length in the rainy season is only 15 km). There are rivers and even shorter lengths - the same Quinn, which does not stretch even up to 13 km. It is clear that for the "drying up" continent, even if it belongs to the category of "drying up rivers of Australia", it is of value. But we will not consider it in detail. Let us dwell only on those that can be roughly classified as "large rivers of Australia."
Which rivers in Australia can be classified as large? Adelaide - in the north of the mainland, stretches as much as 180 km, and even navigable. Gascoigne is the longest artery in the west, almost a thousand kilometers (978), and also has a drain into the Indian Ocean. The Flinders is Queensland's longest winner, flowing over 1,004 km. Loklan, who blessed 1339 km of Australia and flows into Marrambigi. And Marrambigi itself, which reaches almost one and a half thousand kilometers (for corrosive - 1485), is also one of the few river objects where it was possible to build a dam.
Very ancient history
From the foregoing, it is not difficult to conclude that Australians are very kind to water in general, and to fresh water in particular. Research, research and historical information - this is what the inhabitants of the miniature continent take very seriously. And even if at the moment the results of the studies are not of practical use, the Australians are interested in them ... but they can wait for useful consequences.
Such studies include recent research conducted by the Smithsonian Institute in collaboration with the National University of Australia. Scientists have created unique software, studied everything that they got from previous researchers, and conducted their own intelligence "on the ground."
The result of the study was a map of the oldest distribution of water on Australian soil. And since tectonic stability has been established on this continent before, there is an option to track “hidden” waters using these studies.
Let us make a reservation: many geologists do not trust the results too much and refute them, using other data. But it is still impossible to protest them completely, so Australia can, using unverified information, try to enrich itself with additional water resources.
Alternative sources of drinking water
From all of the above, it is obvious that Australia is in dire need of fresh water. Neither the rivers (most of which are drying up), nor the lakes (which are almost marine in the main part) give it the necessary amount of unsalted water. Therefore, the state was forced to turn to alternative sources that could provide the missing.
Of course, groundwater is not a panacea. Their sulfur content (both pure and in compounds) is too high, but often there is no other source of fresh water.
The good news is that there is a Great Artesian Basin under Australia. The bad thing is that it will also end someday. And this continent already has to think about what its inhabitants will do next.