| Howard River | |
| Pushpin Map: | Australia Darwin |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Howard River |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Australia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Territory |
| Subdivision Name2: | Northern Territory |
| Subdivision Type4: | LGA |
| Subdivision Type5: | Townships |
| Subdivision Name5: | Litchfield Municipality |
| Mouth Location: | Darwin Harbour |
Howard River is a river in the outer suburbs of Darwin. In the wet season it starts just south of the Arnhem Highway,[1] at about and flows north to Darwin Harbour.[2] In drier times the river just forms pools.[3]
Prior to 1865 the Howard River area was occupied by the Larrakia Nation[4] and Wulna. In 1865 W. P. Auld, of Finniss's exploration party, named the Howard River after Captain Frederick Howard, of HMS Beatrice which charted the area.
The Howard River is one of only two rivers feeding Darwin Harbour which flow all year round. Its catchment is, which runs into the broad coastal plains of Shoal Bay. It runs over Quaternary rocks, with poorly drained saline muds and clay plains. Each wet season these plains are flooded by fresh water to depths of up to deep, for 6 to 8 months. The valley has many lifestyle blocks, which, with demands from crops such as mangoes, has depleted the Koolpinyah dolomite aquifer, as over 2,000 wells have been sunk since 1960.
Scattered natural vegetation remains, especially beside the river and its streams. It was open savanna dominated by woolewoorrng, Corymbia jacobsiana and a sorghum grassland understory. There is also monsoon vine forest, mangrove and samphire, with scattered chenopod shrubland.[5]