The Kikori River is a major river in southern Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea. The river has a total length of and flows southeast into the Gulf of Papua, with its delta at the head of the gulf. The settlement of Kikori lies on the delta.*Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 1997. p. 592.
Course The headwaters of the Kikori, the Hegigio and the Tagari, originate in the south-eastern part of the Muller plateau. The Hegigio descends through a wild gorge into the Papua Plain. From the mouth of the Mubi River, it is known as the Kikori and flows into the Gulf of Papua, with a large marshy delta. Geography and hydrology The catchment area extends from alpine grasslands of the Southern Highlands to mangrove wetlands of the mouth at Gulf of Papua. The Kikori arises at the confluence of the Hegigio with the Mubi River or Digimu River, into which Lake Kutubu drained. The average rainfall in the Kikori catchment is .
The city of the same name is located on the right bank just before its confluence with the delta.
The Kikori catchment area is very rain-fed (2,500–5,500 mm – up to 7,000 mm in places in the south) and is classified as type Af according to the Köppen climate classification. The mountainous areas of the catchment cover large areas of karst. It is characterised by high biodiversity and sparsely populated areas. Average annual sediment load is 50 million tonnes.
Tributaries The largest tributaries of the Kikori: Left tributary Right tributary Length (km) Basin size (km2) Average discharge (m3/s)Kikori44518,863.32,000Utitu Creek (Ituti C.)147.714.8Sirebi1,573.5143.5Howoi Creek177.618.3Kahuki Creek140.414Pinini Creek293.329.5Ihu (Ario Creek)502.647.9Iehi Creek57541.766.3Keivi Creek290.636.9Hegigio1837,002.2812.1Mubi1604,591.2472.1 Discharge Year, period Average discharge Ref.Kikori Delta19861977Kaiam 1971–2000* *Minimum discharge: ; Maximum discharge: ;
Economy The Kikori river basin is home to large oil and gas fields that have been mined since the 1990s. A pipeline for oil and gas transport ( Papua New Guinea LNG Project) runs in the Kikori River system from Lake Kutubu over to Papua Gulf. Biodiversity The Kikori river system is known for its biodiversity. Mount Bosavi, which is well known in this respect, lies on the western edge of the Kikori river basin. The catchment area of the Kikori includes more than 100 species of fish, of which 14 percent are endemic; along with the western, and much longer Fly River, it is the most species-rich river in New Guinea. However, most of the endemic fish do not live in the rivers, but in Lake Kutubu. Furthermore, in the Kikori Basin there are three species of cherax, an endemic blind cavern Oxyeleotris caeca and six species of freshwater turtles.Richards, S.J. (Editor) Rapid biological assessments of Wau Creek, Uro Creek and Lake Kutubu: documenting biodiversity values to promote forest conservation in the Kikori River basin, Papua New Guinea. ExxonMobil PNG Limited. Port Moresby. 2018 See also List of rivers of Papua New Guinea List of rivers of Oceania List of rivers by discharge Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests Kikori Kikori River languages Kikori District References
External links Kikori- More than just a river