The Murray - Darling system is the major river system in Australia and is the most well-known, but it is not a single river. The Murray and the Darling are two separate rivers, with the Darling a tributary of the Murray. The Murray is the longest river in Australia, and the Darling is the second longest.
Other well-known rivers are:
- Flinders River (longest in Queensland), Diamantina River and Cooper Creek which run through western Queensland and ultimately empty into Lake Eyre
- Lachlan River, which flows into the Murrumbidgee River which, in turn, flows into the Murray
- Culgoa, Balonne, Warrego and Condamine Rivers which feed the Darling River
- Gascoyne River, the longest in Western Australia
- Goulburn River (Victoria)
- Hunter River, one that frequently floods in NSW, together with the Clarence and the Richmond
- Dumaresq, Macintyre and Tweed Rivers, which form part of the border between Queensland and NSW
- Burdekin River, forming a major dam in northern Queensland
- Other major rivers include the Nicholson, Daly, Ord, Margaret, Ashburton, Georgina, Roper, Katherine, Thompson, Palmer, Clarence, Cooper Creek, South Esk and Burdekin, to name just a few.
Each of Australia's state capital cities is built on a river.
- Sydney - Hawkesbury and Parramatta Rivers
- Melbourne - Yarra
- Adelaide - Torrens
- Brisbane - Brisbane
- Perth - Swan
- Hobart - Derwent
For a complete list of Australia's rivers, see the related link.