Don River (North Queensland) should not be confused with Don River (Central Queensland).
| Don | |
| Pushpin Map: | Australia Queensland |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Don River mouth in Queensland |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Australia |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Queensland |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | North Queensland |
| Subdivision Type5: | City |
| Length: | 60km (40miles) |
| Discharge1 Location: | Near mouth |
| Discharge1 Avg: | [1] |
| Source1: | Clarke Range |
| Source1 Location: | below Mount Roundhill |
| Source1 Coordinates: | -20.5628°N 148.2719°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 253m (830feet) |
| Mouth: | Coral Sea |
| Mouth Location: | near |
| Mouth Coordinates: | -19.9478°N 148.1653°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 50m (160feet) |
| Basin Size: | 1200km2 to [2] |
| Tributaries Left: | Bluff Creek, Humbug Creek, Monte Christo Creek, Boundary Creek (Queensland), Selina Creek |
| Tributaries Right: | Wild Creek, Oaky Creek (Queensland), Spring Creek (Queensland), Simon Creek (Queensland), Ida Creek, Menilden Creek, Grasstree Creek, Police Camp Creek |
| Custom Label: | National park |
| Custom Data: | Eungella National Park |
| Extra: | [3] |
The Don River is a river in North Queensland, Australia.
The Don River rises in the Clarke Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, below Mount Roundhill and west of . The river flows generally north by northeast through the Eungella National Park and is joined by thirteen minor tributaries, towards its mouth and empties into the Coral Sea north of . With a catchment area of,[4] the river descends over its 60km (40miles) course.[3]
High salinity levels have been recorded at the mouth of the river.[5] Land use in the upper catchment is mostly beef cattle production with crops grown in the richer soils downstream.[4]
The river is crossed by the Bruce Highway via the Don River Bridge at Bowen.
The highest recorded flood was in 1970 when the river reached at the Bowen Pumping Station.[4] The river delta is particularly vulnerable to flooding during cyclones.[5]
Floods in 2008 left deposits of sand which raised the riverbed considerably.[6] Approval to dredge sand was granted by the Queensland Government, however only about half of that has been removed in recent years. A flood in 2008 lead the Whitsunday Regional Council to create a channel so that similar flooding could be avoided.[7]
A management plan for the river was established late in 2008. It included measures to encourage further sand extraction.[8]