The Gulf of Carpentaria from a 1859 Dutch map

The Gulf of Carpentaria

The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and Indonesia). In geological terms, the Gulf is young - it was dry land as recently as the last ice age. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 672 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1479 × 1320 pixel, file size: 154 KB, MIME type: image/gif) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 672 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1479 × 1320 pixel, file size: 154 KB, MIME type: image/gif) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Arafura Sea is the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

The land bordering the Gulf is generally flat and low-lying. To the west is Arnhem Land and the Top End of the Northern Territory. To the east is the Cape York Peninsula. The area to the south (like the Cape York Peninsula, part of Queensland) is known as the "Gulf Country" or simply "the Gulf." Arnhem Land is an area of 97,000 km² in the north-eastern corner of the Northern Territory, Australia. ... The Top End is, Cape York Peninsula aside, the northernmost part of Australia. ... Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $10,418 (8th)  - Product per capita  $51,634/person (2nd) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  207,700 (8th)  - Density  0. ... This article is about the peninsula located in the Australian state of Queensland; it should not be confused with either Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, or Cape York, Greenland. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ...

The climate is hot and humid with two seasons per year. The dry season lasts from about April until November and is characterized by very dry southeast to east winds, generated by migratory winter high pressure systems to the south. The wet season lasts from December to March. Most of a year's rainfall is compressed into these months, and during this period, many low-lying areas are flooded.

In many other parts of Australia, there are dramatic climatic transitions over fairly short distances. The Great Dividing Range, which parallels the entire east and south-east coast, is responsible for the typical pattern of a well-watered coastal strip, a fairly narrow band of mountains, and then a vast, inward-draining plain that receives little rainfall. In the Gulf Country, however, there are no mountains to restrict rainfall to the coastal band and the transition from the profuse tropical growth of the seaside areas to the arid scrubs of central Australia is gradual. The Great Divide runs around the entire eastern and south-eastern edge of Australia The Great Dividing Range, also known as the Eastern Highlands, is Australias most substantial mountain range. ...

The first known European explorer to visit the region was the Dutch Willem Janszoon (whose name is also written as Jansz) in his 1606 voyage. His fellow countryman Jan Carstenszoon (or Carstensz.) visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honor of Pieter de Carpentier, at that time Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Abel Tasman also explored the coast in 1644. The region was later explored and charted by Matthew Flinders in 1802 and 1803. The European exploration of Australia encompasses several waves of seafarers and land explorers. ... Willem Janszoon (c. ... Duyfken replica, Swan River Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent in 1606 in the Duyfken. ... Jan Carstenszoon (also known by the abbreviation of his patronym Carstensz or Carstensz. ... Year 1623 (MDCXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Pieter de Carpentier (1586 or 88 – 5 September 1659) was a Dutch, or Flemish, administrator of the Dutch East Indies, and who served as Governor-General there from 1623–1627. ... The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies represented the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and the recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1945. ... Portrait of Tasman (detail from the family portrait) The only evidence to support this claim is a library catalogue entry Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603 - October 10, 1659), was a Dutch seafarer, explorer and then merchant, born in Lutjegast, a village in the province of Groningen, best known for his voyages... Captain Matthew Flinders RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was one of the most accomplished navigators and cartographers of his age. ... --69. ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

The first overland explorer in the area was the Prussian Ludwig Leichhardt who traversed the area in 1844 and 1845. He was followed by Augustus Gregory of the North Australian Expedition in 1856, and then Burke and Wills in 1861. John McKinlay, Frederick Walker and William Landsborough lead separate search parties into the Gulf looking for Burke and Wills in 1861 and 1862. Portrait of Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (October 23, 1813 - 1848?) was a Prussian explorer and naturalist. ... Jan. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819–25 June 1905) was an Australian explorer. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Robert OHara Burke by William Strutt William John Wills In 1860-61 Robert OHara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... John McKinlay (26 August 1819 – 31 December 1872), was an explorer of Australia. ... Frederick Walker can refer to different people: Frederick Walker (1820-1886), an explorer Frederick Mysterious Walker (1885-1958), a Major League Baseball pitcher Frederick Walker (1840-1875), a painter and illustrator Frederic John Walker (1896-1944), a British naval officer Frederic Walker (1829-1889), a cricketer Category: ... William Landsborough (c. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Major rivers of the Gulf

• Top End
  • Roper River
    • Wilton River
• Gulf Country
  • Cox River
  • Calvert River
  • Leichhardt River
  • MacArthur River
  • Flinders River
  • Norman River
  • Gilbert River
• Cape York Peninsula
  • Smithburne River
  • Mitchell River
    • Alice River
  • Staaten River
  • Mission River
  • Wenlock River
  • Archer River

The Roper River is one of the largest rivers in the Northern Territory, Australia, extending east for over 500 km to meet the sea in Limmen Bight on the Gulf of Carpentaria. ... The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia at about 840 km. ... The Norman River is a river in Queensland, Australia. ... The Mitchell River begins on the Atherton Tableland about 50 km northwest of Cairns, Queensland, Australia, and flows over 500 km northwest across Cape York Peninsula to the Gulf of Carpentaria. ... Staaten River is a national park in Queensland (Australia), 1640 km northwest of Brisbane. ...

External links

• Morning Glory Cloud video footage and video of the Gulf Region around Burketown

Coordinates: 14°00′S, 139°00′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...