Endeavour River

Endeavour (Wabalumbaal)
Endeavours
River
280px Endeavour River at Marton, 2004
Name origin: HMS Endeavour
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Region	Far North Queensland
Primary source	Endeavour River Right Branch
- location	northwest of Hopevale
- elevation	327 m (1,073 ft)
- coordinates
Secondary source	Endeavour River North Branch
- location	below Honeysuckle Flat
- elevation	160 m (525 ft)
- coordinates
Additional source	Endeavour River South Branch
- location	near Alderbury
- elevation	109 m (358 ft)
- coordinates
Source confluence	Right Branch to from the Endeavour River
- location	Endeavour River National Park
- coordinates
Mouth	Coral Sea
- location	Cooktown
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates
Length	140 km (87 mi)
Basin	1,315 km2 (508 sq mi)
National park	Endeavour River National Park
Satellite image of the Endeavour River course marked in dark blue
Wikimedia Commons: Endeavour River

The Endeavour River (Guugu Yimithirr: Wabalumbaal), inclusive of the Endeavour River Right Branch, the Endeavour River South Branch, and the Endeavour River North Branch, is a river system located on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.

Course and features

The river system comprises three branches that are sourced by runoff from the Henderson and Audaer Ranges. The river flows generally east from the Great Dividing Range to the Coral Sea. The Right Branch of the river rises northwest of Hopevale at an elevation of 335 metres (1,099 ft) and flows generally south by east for 48 kilometres (30 mi) before reaching its confluence to join with the Endeavour River northwest of Cooktown, and west of the river mouth. The South Branch of the river rises near Alderbury at an elevation of 109 metres (358 ft) and flows generally east for 20 kilometres (12 mi) before forming confluence with the North Branch to form the Endeavour River. The North Branch of the river rises below Honeysuckle Flat at an elevation of 160 metres (520 ft) and flows generally west and then south for 20 kilometres (12 mi) before forming confluence with the South Branch to form the Endeavour River. Having being formed by the South and North Branches, the Endeavour River rises below Flaggy at an elevation of 39 metres (128 ft) and flows generally east towards its mouth with the Coral Sea at Cooktown, flowing through the Endeavour River National Park for the last few kilomtres of its course. The Endeavour River has a catchment area of 1,315 square kilometres (508 sq mi).

In recent years, tilapia fish, which are considered an "invasive species" in Australia, have infested the river, causing concern that the stocks of native fish will suffer.

The river basin remains largely unmodified and the water quality is rated as good.

History

James Cook, RN named the river in 1770 after he was forced to beach his ship, HMS Endeavour, for repairs in the river mouth, after damaging it on Endeavour Reef. Joseph Banks named the river the Endeavours River but the form Cook used, Endeavour River, has stuck.

Cook and his crew remained for almost seven weeks and made contact with the local Guugu Yimithirr Aborigines, while the naturalists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander made extensive collections of native flora, while Sydney Parkinson illustrated much of the flora and fauna of the region. Botanical specimens were also collected by Alan Cunningham after he arrived on the HMS Mermaid, captained by Philip Parker King on 28 June 1819.

Modern Cooktown which has a population of about 2,000, is located at the mouth of the Endeavour River. It is one of the northernmost towns on the East Coast of Australia and was founded in 1873, around the site of Cook's landing, as a port to service the newly discovered Palmer River Goldfields. Some of the relatively undisturbed natural features near the mouth of the river have been reserved in the Endeavour River National Park.

See also

• List of rivers of Queensland
• Tilapia as exotic species

Bibliography

• Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World at Project Gutenberg