Fly River Explained

Fly
Map:Papua New Guinea Fly River1.png
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:Papua New Guinea and Indonesia
Length:1060km (660miles)[1]
Discharge1 Avg:7500m3/s to
Discharge2 Location:Ogwa (370 km upstream of mouth; Basin size:
Discharge2 Min:(2004/11/30)[2]
Discharge2 Avg:(Period: 1998–2023)
Discharge2 Max: (1999/04/30)[3]
Discharge3 Location:Obo (400 km upstream of mouth; Basin size:
Discharge4 Location:Kiunga (900 km upstream of mouth)
Discharge4 Min:[4]
Source1 Location:Star Mountains, Papua New Guinea
Source1 Coordinates:-5.5374°N 141.8877°W
Mouth:Gulf of Papua
Mouth Location:Papua New Guinea
Mouth Coordinates:-8.5°N 143.5°W
Mouth Elevation:0feet
Basin Size:76000km2
Tributaries Left:Strickland River
Tributaries Right:Ok Tedi River

The Fly River is the third longest river on the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik River and Mamberamo River, with a total length of 1060km (660miles). It is the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catchment, and overall the 20th-largest primary river in the world by discharge volume. It is located in the southwest of Papua New Guinea and in the South Papua province of Indonesia.[5] It rises in the Victor Emanuel Range arm of the Star Mountains, and crosses the south-western lowlands before flowing into the Gulf of Papua in a large delta. The Fly-Strickland River system has a total length of 1220km (760miles), making it the longest river system of an island in the world. The Strickland River is the longest and largest tributary of Fly River, making it the farthest distance source of the Fly River.

Description

The Fly flows mostly through the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and for a small stretch, it forms the international boundary with Indonesia's western New Guinea. This section protrudes slightly to the west of the 141°E longitude line.[6] To compensate for this slight gain in territory for Papua New Guinea, the border south of the Fly River is slightly east of the 141°E longitude line. As part of this deal, Indonesia has the right to use the Fly River to its mouth for navigation.

The principal tributaries of the Fly are the Strickland and the Ok Tedi.Close to its mouth, the flow of the Fly River encounters a tidal bore, where an incoming high tide pushes water upstream until the tide changes. The range of this tidal bore is still undocumented.[7]

Discharge

Average, minimum, and maximum discharge of the Fly River at Ogwa (Lower Fly). Period from 1998/01/01 to 2023/12/31.[2]

YearDischarge (m3/s)YearDischarge (m3/s)
MinMean ! Max MinMeanMax
19983,8877,65811,18520113,0306,38211,341
19994,75710,14818,57520124,6098,00413,993
20005,1509,73815,51020134,0236,2469,629
20013,9408,76216,20320144,6756,75911,794
20022,3105,64510,71220152,5465,7608,575
20032,5995,26910,06020163,6658,36614,918
20041,7574,2319,88120175,76010,26417,509
20052,3145,91315,59520184,7668,74113,772
20062,3957,05712,42920193,4987,48813,533
20073,5746,78812,93520204,1586,86810,567
20084,4307,67211,84820214,5188,70615,338
20093,4647,50914,35520224,0326,6049,569
20103,3166,08610,00920232,4975,97811,963
1998 20231,7577,28018,575

Delta

The delta of the Fly River is over 100 km wide at its entrance, but only 11 km wide at the apex upstream of Kiwai Island. The delta contains 3 main distributary channels (the Southern, Northern, and Far Northern Entrances) that branch from a common point (the “apex”). The distributary channels are 5 to 15m in depth, separated by elongate, sand-mud islands that are stabilized by lush mangrove vegetation. The islands are eroded and rebuilt rapidly in the apex area, where they have lateral migration rates of up to 150 m/a, with slower rates for the more seaward islands. Upstream from the apex the river gradually narrows to a width of 1.6 km or less. The Fly Delta exhibits a distinctive funnel shape in plan view, attesting to the fundamental role of tidal currents in shaping the Delta's geomorphology. Mean spring tidal ranges are amplified within the delta, from around 3.5m at the seaward entrance of the distributary channels, reaching a peak of about 5m at the delta apex.[8] Seismic profiles and radiometrically dated core samples indicate that the delta is prograding seawards at an average rate of about 6 m/a [9] The Fly Delta is considered a global "type case" of a tide-dominated delta and the patterns of sedimentation seen in the Delta today have been studied by sedimentary geologists as a model for interpreting the ancient rock record [10]

The river delta is studded with low and swampy islands covered with mangroves and nipa palm, with villages and cultivated areas on these islands. The land on both sides of the estuary is of the same character. The islands in the estuary are flat and covered with thick, fertile alluvial soil. The largest islands are Kiwai Island, Purutu Island, Wabuda Island, Aibinio Island, Mibu Island, and Domori Island. Kiwai, Wabuda, and Domori are inhabited.

A list of the river delta islands is:

  • Dawari Island
  • Wariura Island
  • War Island
  • Kesuguruguru Island
  • Abaura Island
  • Abo Island
  • Boromura Island
  • Ura Island
  • Dogope Island
  • Sumogi Island
  • Sobowada Island
  • Abaurai Island
  • Samari
  • Reginimi Island
  • Dibiri Island
  • Sobuwabuda Island
  • Orope Island
  • Aeginimi Islands
  • Umuda Island
  • Midima Island
  • Domori Island
  • Dubuwaro Island
  • Kuragimini Island
  • Daura Island
  • Kunagimini Islands
The inhabitants of the Fly River delta engage in agriculture and hunting. Coconut palm, breadfruit, plantain, sago palm, and sugar cane are grown.

Fly River turtle

The Fly River turtle, also known as the Pig-nosed turtle due to its odd nose, is notably different from other turtles due to its pig-like nose. The only freshwater turtle to have flippers, the turtle is known to rarely leave water, except in dire circumstances. They are also known to be omnivores who rarely consume meat.

History

The Fly was first discovered by Europeans in 1845 when Francis Blackwood, commanding the corvette HMS Fly, surveyed the western coast of the Gulf of Papua.[11] The river was named after his ship and he proclaimed that it would be possible for a small steam-powered boat to travel up the mighty river.[12]

In 1876, Italian explorer, Luigi D'Albertis, was the first person to successfully attempt this when he travelled 900 km into the interior of New Guinea, in his steamer, Neva. It was the furthest any European explorer had ever been into the island.[12]

Environmental issues

Both the Strickland and the Ok Tedi Rivers have been the source of environmental controversy due to tailings waste from the Porgera Mine and the Ok Tedi Mine, respectively. Sediment sampling and coring in the distributary channels of the Fly Delta had not detected copper concentrations significantly higher than background as of 1994.[13] In 2008, Ian Campbell, a former advisor to Ok Tedi Mining Limited, claimed that company data suggest significant portions of the Fly River floodplain are at a high risk from acid mine drainage.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: IUCN: The Fly River Catchment - A Regional Environmental Assessment . International Union for Conservation of Nature The Department of Environment and Conservation, Papua New Guinea . 1995 . 22 November 2020 . 14 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211114230010/https://www.iucn.org/content/fly-river-catchment-papua-new-guinea-a-regional-environmental-assessment . dead .
  2. Web site: River Discharge and Reservoir Storage Changes Using Satellite Microwave Radiometry.
  3. Web site: River Discharge and Reservoir Storage Changes Using Satellite Microwave Radiometry.
  4. Web site: Sustainable Development for Traditional Inhabitants of the Torres Strait Region. David. Lawrence. Tim. Cansfield-Smith. 1990.
  5. Web site: Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of the World's Major River Systems . 2011-08-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120330202803/http://www.gwsp.org/fileadmin/downloads/Nilsson_Science2005.pdf . 2012-03-30 . dead .
  6. Web site: Who Bit My Border? . March 13, 2012 . . Frank Jacobs.
  7. p.159, Barrie R. Bolton. 2009. The Fly River, Papua New Guinea: Environmental Studies in an Impacted Tropical River System. Elsevier Science. .
  8. Harris, P.T., Baker, E.K., Cole, A.R., Short, S.A., 1993. A preliminary study of sedimentation in the tidally dominated Fly River Delta, Gulf of Papua. Continental Shelf Research 13, 441-472.
  9. Harris, P.T., Hughes, M.G., Baker, E.K., Dalrymple, R.W., Keene, J.B., 2004. Sediment transport in distributary channels and its export to the pro-deltaic environment in a tidally-dominated delta: Fly River, Papua New Guinea. Continental Shelf Research 24, 2431-2454.
  10. Dalrymple, R. W., E. K. Baker, P. T. Harris and M. G. Hughes (2003). Sedimentology and stratigraphy of a tide-dominated, foreland-basin delta (Fly River, Papua New Guinea). Tropical Deltas of Southeast Asia and Vicinity - Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, and Petroleum Geology. F. H. Sidi, H. W. Posamentier, H. Darman, D. Nummedal and P. Imbert. Tulsa, Oklahoma, SEPM Special Publication 76. 76: 147–173.
  11. Book: Blackwood, Francis Price (1809 - 1854) . Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  12. Book: Lightbody, Mark . Papua New Guinea: a travel survival guide . . Wheeler, Tony . 0-908086-59-8 . 1985 . 3 . 172.
  13. Harris, P.T., 2001. Environmental Management of Torres Strait: a Marine Geologist’s Perspective, in: Gostin, V.A. (Ed.), Gondwana to Greenhouse: environmental geoscience - an Australian perspective. Geological Society of Australia Special Publication, Adelaide, pp. 317-328.
  14. Web site: PNG warned of environmental mining disaster . 2008-01-06 . 2008-09-06 . ABC News . .