Fly River

Fly
River
NASA Blue Marble satellite image of the Fly River
Countries	Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
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.
Location of the Fly

The Fly at 1,050 kilometres (650 mi), is the second longest river, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. It rises in the Star Mountains, and crosses the south-western lowlands before flowing into the Gulf of Papua in a large delta.

It 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. Both these rivers 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.^[1]

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:

Map of Fly River Delta

The inhabitants of the Fly River delta engage in agriculture and hunting. Coconut palm, breadfruit, plantain, sago palm, and sugar cane are grown.

History

The original survey map created by L.M. D'Albertis in 1876

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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 explorer had ever been into the island.^[3]

References

v • d • e Major rivers of Papua New Guinea Sepik · Fly · Strickland · Ramu · Kikori · Purari · Markham

Coordinates: 8°30′00″S 143°40′59″E / 8.500°S 143.683°E / -8.500; 143.683