The Diamantina River is a river in Central West Queensland and the far north of South Australia. Rising north-west of Longreach in the Swords Range, it flows in a south-westerly direction through central Queensland and the Channel Country to form the Warburton River at its confluence with the Georgina River. In extremely wet years, the Warburton River flows as far as Lake Eyre. The length of the Diamantina River is approximately 900 km (560 mi), and the basin is approximately 157,000 km², of which most (140,000 km²) is used for agriculture.
The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (née Roma), wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland. It has three major tributaries the Western River, Mayne River and Farrars Creek.
Most of the basin of the Diamantina is very flat—even the highest points in the northeast do not reach 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level and Lake Eyre itself is 16 m (52 ft) below sea level. Apart from a few streams near Winton (the largest town in the basin) almost all rivers in the basin flow southwestwards towards Birdsville. The Diamantina River has no main channel, rather it is a series of wide relatively shallow channels. The major feature of the river's sluggish course is Diamantina National Park about halfway between Winton and Birdsville. Apart from the national park, almost all land in the basin is used for grazing cattle and sheep, though numbers fluctuate greatly and considerable skill is required on the part of graziers.
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