Archer River

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title: "Archer River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-far-north-queensland", "gulf-of-carpentaria"] description: "River in Queensland, Australia" topic_path: "general/rivers-of-far-north-queensland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archer_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River in Queensland, Australia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

Field	Value
name	Archer
image	Archer-river-cape-york-australia.JPG
image_caption	Archer River, Cape York
pushpin_map	Australia Queensland
pushpin_map_caption	Location of Archer River mouth in Queensland
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	Australia
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Queensland
subdivision_type3	Region
subdivision_name3	Far North Queensland
subdivision_type5	Settlement
subdivision_name5
length	268 km
discharge1_avg	222 m3/s
source1	McIlwraith Range
source1_location	north of
source1_elevation	138 m
mouth	Gulf of Carpentaria
mouth_location	Archer Bay
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation	0 m
basin_size	13820 km2
tributaries_left	Coen River
tributaries_right	The Dry River
custom_label	National park
custom_data	Oyala Thumotang National Park
extra
::

| name = Archer | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = Archer-river-cape-york-australia.JPG | image_size = | image_caption = Archer River, Cape York | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Australia Queensland | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= Location of Archer River mouth in Queensland | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Australia | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Queensland | subdivision_type3 = Region | subdivision_name3 = Far North Queensland | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = Settlement | subdivision_name5 = | length = 268 km | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = 222 m3/s | discharge1_max = | source1 = McIlwraith Range | source1_location = north of | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 138 m | mouth = Gulf of Carpentaria | mouth_location = Archer Bay | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 0 m | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = 13820 km2 | tributaries_left = Coen River | tributaries_right = The Dry River | custom_label = National park | custom_data = Oyala Thumotang National Park | extra = The Archer River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, Australia.

Course and features

The headwaters of the river rise in the McIlwraith Range and it flows west, traversing tropical savanna plains and wetlands, flowing through Piccaninny Plains Sanctuary and Oyala Thumotang National Park, and enters the Archer Bay in the Gulf of Carpentaria on the western side of the peninsula near the town of Aurukun along with the Watson River and the Ward River.

The catchment area for the Archer River is 13820 km2. During the wet season between November and April, the river floods, replenishing over a million hectares of wetlands. The Coen River is a tributary of the Archer River.

The river remains in a natural state with very little development and just one small dam that supplies water for the town of Coen. On 3 April 2009, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announced the Archer River would be included under the Wild Rivers Act, 2005 (Qld). The declaration means the river's fragile ecosystems will be protected by allowing only sustainable activities within its catchment.

The river has an average discharge of 7010 GL per annum.

Flora and fauna

Much of the river is bordered by fig-dominated gallery rainforests, which provide habitat for animals such as the white-tailed rat, spotted cuscus and palm cockatoo. Toothless catfish are found in the river.

A total of 45 species of fish have been found in the river, including the glassfish, barred grunter, silver cobbler, fly-specked hardyhead, mouth almighty, goby, barramundi, oxeye herring, eastern rainbowfish, bony bream, gulf saratoga, giant gudgeon, freshwater longtom and seven-spot archerfish.

History

The traditional owners of the area are the Wik, Kaantju and Wikampama peoples.

The river was named in 1865 by Francis Lascelles Jardine and Alexander Jardine during an expedition through the area. They named the river after the Archer brothers of Gracemere in Rockhampton. The river had probably been named Dubbelde Ree by Willem Jansz in 1606 and later named Coen River by Jan Carstensz in 1623 and then named Peach River by Robert Logan Jack in 1879.

References

References

1. "Map of Archer River, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia.
2. "Water resources - Overview - Queensland - Archer River". [[Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts]].
3. "Wild Rivers: Archer River".
4. (20 April 2009). "Divisions run deep in Qld Wild Rivers debate". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
5. "Optimising Australia's contribution to Asia's food bowl".
6. "Archer River catchment". Fish Atlas of North Australia.
7. "Wik-Munkan". AusAnthrop.
8. "Kandju". AusAnthrop.
9. "Wikampama". AusAnthrop.
10. {{cite QPN. 764. Coen River

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::