Don River (North Queensland)

The Don River is a river in North Queensland, Australia.

Course and features
The Don River rises in the Clarke Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, below Mount Roundhill and west of. The river flows generally north by northeast through the Eungella National Park and is joined by thirteen minor tributaries, towards its mouth and empties into the Coral Sea north of. With a catchment area of 1200 km2, the river descends 253 m over its 60 km course.

High salinity levels have been recorded at the mouth of the river. Land use in the upper catchment is mostly beef cattle production with crops grown in the richer soils downstream.

The river is crossed by the Bruce Highway via the Don River Bridge at Bowen.

Flooding
The highest recorded flood was in 1970 when the river reached 7.25 m at the Bowen Pumping Station. The river delta is particularly vulnerable to flooding during cyclones.

Floods in 2008 left deposits of sand which raised the riverbed considerably. Approval to dredge sand was granted by the Queensland Government, however only about half of that has been removed in recent years. A flood in 2008 lead the Whitsunday Regional Council to create a channel so that similar flooding could be avoided.

A management plan for the river was established late in 2008. It included measures to encourage further sand extraction.