The Murray-Darling River System

The Murray River and its main tributary, the Darling River, are the two main rivers in the Murray-Darling River Basin. The Murray-Darling Basin measures over one million square kilometres, which is almost one-seventh of all the land in Australia. When measured from its source in Queensland to its mouth in South Australia, the Murray is over 1700 miles long.  Darling River has a large amount of Aboriginal and European history, contributes to the nation’s wealth, and has an environment all it's own.

The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia’s most important agricultural region, accounting for over 39 per cent of Australia’s gross value in agricultural production. Three quarters of Australia's irrigated crops and pastures are grown in the Basin.

The Basin's most valuable resource is water. The water in the Murray-Darling river system comes from a very small percentage of the Basin area; mainly along the southern and eastern rim. Almost 86% of the vast 'catchment' area contributes very little or no regular run-off to rivers.

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/rivers/

http://www.murrayriver.com.au/about-the-murray/murray-darling-basin/

http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/a301124cdaa05be4ca256cae001599c5?OpenDocument

http://www.discoveringthedarling.com.au/