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The Murray near Mildura   The main rivers of the continent are obviously found in Australia, even if this country does not have a deep-rooted river system like those of Papua New Guinea or New Zealand, which do not have arid areas remotely comparable to the Outback.

   The major waterways of Australia are located in its eastern part and arise from the highest mountain ranges of the nation; Murray and Darling together form a system over 3,500 kilometers long if we consider the Darling with its main tributaries and the Murray from the confluence with the latter.

   Almost all the other countries of Oceania see the presence in its territory only of short watercourses, with the exception of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Indonesia (in its part included in the Oceanic Continent).


River Length (km) Length (mi) Mouth Countries
Darling (1) 2,740 km 1,703 mi Murray Australia
Murray (2) 2,520 km 1,566 mi Indian Ocean Australia
Murrumbidge 1,575 km 979 mi Murray Australia
Lachlan 1,370 km 851 mi Murrumbidge Australia
Sepik 1,126 km 700 mi Bismarck Sea Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
Cooper Creek (3) 1,113 km 692 mi Lake Eyre Australia
Fly 1,050 km 652 mi Gulf of Papua Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
Flinders 1,004 km 624 mi Gulf of Carpentaria Australia
Mamberamo (4) 800 km 497 mi Pacific Ocean Indonesia
Pulau 674 km 419 mi Arafura Sea Indonesia
Ramu 640 km 398 mi Bismarck Sea Papua New Guinea
Digul 525 km 326 mi Arafura Sea Indonesia
Waikato 425 km 264 mi Tasman Sea New Zealand

* only the main rivers of the 4 countries with watercourses of significant length are reported (for Australia those over a thousand kilometers)


(1) Including Culgoa and Condamine, its two main spring branches.
(2) The Darling-Murray river system has an overall length of 3,672 km (2,282 mi).
(3) Due to evaporation or dispersion of its waters it rarely reaches Lake Eyre.
(4) Including its major tributary Taritatu.