Location of the Murchison River

The Murchison River is the second longest river in Western Australia. It flows for about 780 km (490 miles) from the southern edge of the Robinson Ranges to the Indian Ocean at Kalbarri. It has a mean annual flow of about 200 million cubic metres. Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ...

The Murchison River basin covers an area of about 82,000 km² in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It extends about 550 km (340 miles) inland from the Indian Ocean, onto the Yilgarn Plateau. Rain generally only falls in the upper basin during summer cyclones, so for much of the year the Murchison River does not flow, having dry sandy river beds with occasional permanent pools. The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. ...

The eastern reaches of the basin contain large chains of salt lakes, which flow only following rainfall. The drainage lines from these lakes merge to form the Murchison River about 90 km (60 miles) north north east of Meekatharra, near Peak Hill. From here the river flows west, then south west, then west to the Indian Ocean. It has two major tributaries, the Sanford River and the Roderick River.

Nearer to the coast, the Murchison River flows through a deep gorge, whose sandstone is rich in Silurian fossils. The gorge is within the Kalbarri National Park, and is in near pristine condition. The river discharges into the Indian Ocean near the resort town of Kalbarri, the only settlement along the length of the river. For most of the year, the river mouth is closed off by a sand-bar. Alternate use: The Silurians, a reptilian race from the science fiction series Doctor Who. The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 439 million years before the present (BP), to the beginning of the Devonian period, about 408. ... FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL stands for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer and was made by a group of Fidonet sysops to make their software work on different machines. ... Kalbarri is a national park in Western Australia (Australia), 485 km north of Perth. ...

The Murchison River was named by the explorer George Grey, who reached the river in 1839; the name honours the Scottist geologist Sir Roderick Murchison. Statue of Sir George Grey in Albert Park, Auckland Sir George Edward Grey KCB (April 14, 1812 - September 19, 1898) was a soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (South Africa), Premier of New Zealand and a writer. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... Sir Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (February 19, 1792 – October 22, 1871), was a powerful Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian era. ...