Fly River
The Fly River is the third longest river in the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik River and Mamberamo River, with a total length of 1,060 km (660 mi). It is the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catchment, and overall the 20th-largest primary river in the world by discharge volume. It is located in the southwest of Papua New Guinea and in the South Papua province of Indonesia. It rises in the Victor Emanuel Range arm of the Star Mountains, and crosses the south-western lowlands before flowing into the Gulf of Papua in a large delta. The Fly-Strickland River system has a total length of 1,220 km (760 mi), making it the longest river system of an island in the world. The 824 km (512 mi) Strickland River is the longest and largest tributary of Fly River, making it the farthest distance source of the Fly River.
| Fly | |
|---|---|
Aerial view of the Fly River | |
Location of the Fly | |
| Location | |
| Country | Papua New Guinea and Indonesia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Star Mountains, Papua New Guinea |
| • coordinates | 5°32′14.6076″S 141°53′15.576″E |
| • elevation | 3,000 m (9,800 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Papua |
• location | Papua New Guinea |
• coordinates | 8.5°S 143.5°E |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 1,060 km (660 mi) |
| Basin size | 76,000 km2 (29,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Fly Delta, Gulf of Papua, Papua New Guinea |
| • average | 7,500 m3/s (260,000 cu ft/s) 220 km3/a (7,000 m3/s) to 238 km3/a (7,500 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 29,500 m3/s (1,040,000 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Ogwa (370 km upstream of mouth; Basin size: 58,874 km2 (22,731 sq mi) |
| • average | (Period: 1998–2023)7,280 m3/s (257,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 1,757 m3/s (62,000 cu ft/s)(2004/11/30) |
| • maximum | 18,575 m3/s (656,000 cu ft/s) (1999/04/30) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Obo (400 km upstream of mouth; Basin size: 18,400 km2 (7,100 sq mi) |
| • average | 2,800 m3/s (99,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 300 m3/s (11,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 3,500 m3/s (120,000 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Kiunga (900 km upstream of mouth) |
| • average | 1,110 m3/s (39,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 57 m3/s (2,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 1,950 m3/s (69,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Strickland River |
| • right | Ok Tedi River |