River · Australia
Murray
The Murray River is Australia's longest river, flowing across the dry southeast of the continent to the Southern Ocean. Along with the Darling River, it waters much of the country's farmland.
Picture credit: Peterdownunder (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Murray?
The river begins at Cowombat Flat, Australian Alps, New South Wales.
It ends in the Southern Ocean (Encounter Bay).
Along the way it passes: Cowombat Flat (source) → Hume Dam / Albury-Wodonga → Yarrawonga → Echuca → Swan Hill → Mildura → Wentworth (Darling confluence) → Renmark → Waikerie → Murray Bridge.
Countries on the river: Australia.
The story behind it
The Murray begins as a small mountain stream in the Australian Alps, close to the border of New South Wales and Victoria, and flows for thousands of kilometres across a dry, flat landscape before reaching the sea near Adelaide. Because rainfall in this part of Australia is unpredictable, the river's water is precious, and a huge network of dams, channels and locks helps farmers use it to grow grapes, oranges, rice and other crops across a region called the Murray-Darling Basin, one of Australia's most important farming areas. The river is home to the Murray cod, the country's largest freshwater fish, which can grow longer than an adult human is tall and live for decades. Indigenous Australian communities have lived along the Murray and cared for it for tens of thousands of years, long before European settlers arrived.
Questions children ask
How long is the Murray River?
The Murray River is about 2,508 kilometres long, making it the longest river in Australia. It flows from the Australian Alps to the Southern Ocean near Adelaide.
Why is the Murray River important to farmers?
The Murray, together with the Darling River, provides water for irrigation across a huge, dry farming region called the Murray-Darling Basin. This water grows much of Australia's fruit, grapes, rice and other crops.
What is the Murray cod?
The Murray cod is Australia's largest freshwater fish, capable of growing longer than an adult and living for many decades. It lives in the Murray River and is an important part of local Indigenous culture and fishing.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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