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| Fly | |
| River | |
 NASA Blue Marble satellite image of the Fly River
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| Countries | Papua New Guinea, Indonesia |
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| Tributaries | |
| - left | Strickland River |
| - right | Ok Tedi River |
| Source | |
| - location | Star Mountains, Papua New Guinea |
| Mouth | |
| - location | Gulf of Papua, Papua New Guinea |
| Length | 1,050 km (650 mi) approx. |
| Basin | 76,000 km2 (29,344 sq mi) [1] |
 Location of the Fly
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The Fly at 1,050 kilometres (650 mi), is the second longest river, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. The Fly is the largest river in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catchment, and overall ranks as the twenty-fifth largest river in the world by volume of discharge[2]. 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.
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[edit] Description
The Fly flows mostly through the Western Province, though for a small stretch it forms the boundary between PNG and the Indonesia province of Papua. This section protrudes slightly to the west of the 141°E longitude line. To compensate for this slight gain in territory for PNG, 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.
[edit] Delta
The estuary of the Fly River is 56 km wide at its entrance, but only 11 km wide abreast Kiwai Island, which may be considered as being the river mouth. Above this island the river gradually contracts to a width of 1.6 kilometers or less.
The river delta is studded with low and swampy islands covered with mangrove and nipa palm. There are 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 are covered with a 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:
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The inhabitants of the Fly River delta engage in agriculture and hunting. Coconut palm, breadfruit, plantain, sago palm, and sugar cane are grown.
[edit] History
The Fly was first discovered by Europeans in 1842 when Francis Blackwood commanding the corvette HMS Fly, surveryed the western coast of the Gulf of Papua.[3] 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.[4]
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.[4]
[edit] Environmental issues
Both the Strickland and the Ok Tedi river have been the source of environmental controversy due to tailings waste from the Porgera Mine and the Ok Tedi Mine respectively. In 2008, Dr Ian Campbell, a former advisor to Ok Tedi Mining Limited, claimed that company data suggests significant portions of the Fly River floodplain are at a high risk from acid mine drainage.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ IUCN: The Fly River Catchment - A Regional Environmental Assessment, 1995
- ^ Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of the World’s Major River Systems
- ^ "Blackwood, Francis Price (1809 - 1854)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010105b.htm.
- ^ a b Lightbody, Mark; Wheeler, Tony (1985). Papua New Guinea: a travel survival guide (3 ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 172. ISBN 0-908086-59-8.
- ^ "PNG warned of environmental mining disaster". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2008-09-06. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/06/2357374.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
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