The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in North West Queensland and flows generally north-west through the Gulf Country, across a large, flat clay pan, before entering the Gulf of Carpentaria. Course and features The River rises in the Burra Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, north-east of Hughenden and flows in a westerly direction past Hughenden, Richmond and Julia Creek, then north-west to the Gulf of Carpentaria west of . The catchment is bordered to the south by the Selwyn Range. At in length, it is the eighth-longest river in Australia. The catchment covers . The primary land use in the catchment is grazing and other agriculture, the catchment covers 1.5% of the continent. A total of 36 tributaries flow into the Flinders, the principal ones being the Cloncurry, Saxby and the Corella rivers. Another major tributary is Porcupine Creek, which has carved out a dramatic gorge located in the Porcupine Gorge National Park. There are two dams on the river - the Flinders River Dam and Corella Dam. Other smaller tributaries include: Range Creek, Morepork Creek, Oxley Creek, Canterbury Creek, Dutton River, Back Valley Creek, L-Tree Creek, Gorman Creek, Hazlewood Creek, Nonda Creek, Eurimpy Creek, Yambore Creek, Bynoe River and Armstrong Creek. The river flows through one permanent waterhole, Flagstone waterhole. Several towns are located within the catchment including: McKinlay, Burke and Wills Junction, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek and Cloncurry. The river has a mean annual discharge of . The maximum flow recorded is . The riverbed is composed of silt with clay and sand, sand and gravel, and gravel with cobble. A large, flat clay pan is located in the area where the Flinders, Gregory and Leichhardt Rivers enter the Gulf. The mouth of the river lies in the Gulf Plains Important Bird Area. In 2015, the population living within the catchment was 6,600. Flora Vegetation along the river in the upper catchment includes riparian woodlands composed of paperbarks including; Melaleuca argentea, Melaleuca bracteata and Melaleuca fluviatilis and sub-dominant eucalypts including River Red Gum, Coolabah, with minor Bauhinia. Other species found include the wattle. Infestations of weeds such as Prickly acacia, Noogoora burr, Rubber vine and Chonky apple are also