Fly River

The Fly River is the third longest river on the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik and Mamberamo, with a total length of . 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 23rd-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. 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 , making it the longest river system of an island in the world. The Strickland is the longest and largest tributary of Fly River, making it the furthest 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. To compensate for this 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.p.159, Barrie R. Bolton. 2009. The Fly River, Papua New Guinea: Environmental Studies in an Impacted Tropical River System. Elsevier Science. .

Discharge

+Fly River average discharge at gauging stations Year, period Average discharge Ref.Estuary1999–20031993–19971990–2003Ogwa1998–202111988–19931992–1993 1991–19921990–19911989–19901988–1989Everill Junction1993–1997Obo21999–20031993–19971992–1993 1991–19921990–19911989–19901988–1989Kuambit31992–1993 1991–19921990–19911989–19901988–1989Kiunga41992–1993 1991–19921990–19911989–19901988–1989Notes: 1 Minimum 2,201 m3/s (2004/11/30), maximum 18,214 m3/s (2024/06/30); 2 Minimum 300 m3/s, maximum 3,500 m3/s; 3 Minimum 120 m3/s, maximum 3,340 m3/s; 4 Minimum 57 m3/s, maximum 1,950 m3/s;

Sediment load: Station Sediment load (106 t/year) Ogwa 81.3–119 Obo 9.1–35 Kuambit 6.3–37 Kiunga 2.6–2.7Source:

Tributaries

The main tributaries from the mouth: Left tributary Right tributary Length (km) Basin size (km2) Average discharge (m3/s) Fly 1,060 73,809.31 6,500 Lower Fly Segera 457.9 41.4 Bituri 80 2,110.1 78.8 Burei 1,173.6 35.7 Suki Creek (Soru) 60 1,279.2 47.1 Strickland 824 35,058.7 3,600 Middle Fly Tamu Creek 492 19.7 Kai 435.4 22.3 Agu 1,305.6 81.9 Binge 584.4 53.4 Ok Tedi 207 5,042.1 923 Upper Fly Wai Dai 280.6 28.4 Elevala 100 1,859.4 196.1 Wok Luap (Palmer) 90 2,314.4 244.4 Gu (Wai Mari) 319.9 45.7 Wok Feneng 387.5 43.8 Wok Wunik 175.7 25.3Source:

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 three main distributary channels (the Southern, Northern, and Far Northern Entrances) that branch from a common point (the “apex”). The distributary channels are 5 to 15 m 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 3.5 m at the seaward entrance of the distributary channels, reaching a peak of about 5 m at the delta apex.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. Seismic profiles and radiometrically dated core samples indicate that the delta is prograding seawards at an average rate of about 6 m/a 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.

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.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.

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: Kiwai Island Purutu Island Wabuda Island Aibinio Island Mibu Island Magabu Island Invitato Island Sisiabu Island Nikira Island Badu Island Baiabe Island Moroge Island Gebaro IslandDawari Island Wariura Island War Island Kesuguruguru Island Abaura Island Abo Island Boromura Island Ura Island Dogope Island Sumogi Island Sobowada Island Abaurai Island SamariReginimi 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 because of 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 that rarely eat 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. 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.

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.

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.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. 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.

See also Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests Ok Tedi environmental disaster List of rivers of Oceania List of rivers of Papua New Guinea List of rivers of Indonesia List of rivers by discharge

References