What is Roper River?
[[File:StateLibQld 1 113736 Goodwill (ship).jpg|thumb|A ship unloading on the Roper River in 1917]] The '''Roper River''' is in the [[Northern Territory]] of [[Australia]]. It flows east for 400 km from near [[Mataranka, Northern Territory|Mataranka]] before it flows into the [[Gulf of Carpentaria]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/509545/Roper-River |title=Roper River |first= |last= |work=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|year=2011 |accessdate=17 June 2011}}</ref> The Roper was first explored by [[Europe]]ns in 1845, when the explorer [[Ludwig Leichardt]] crossed on his way west from [[Moreton Bay]] to [[Port Essington]]. He name it after a member of his group, John Roper.<ref name=smh>{{cite web |url= http://www.smh.com.au/news/Northern-Territory/Roper-Bar/2005/02/17/1108500201664.html |title=Roper Bar |first= |last=|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |year=8 February 2004 |accessdate=17 June 2011}}</ref> It is can be used by boats as far as the Roper Bar, and in the 1880's there were several [[paddlesteamer]]s working on the river.<ref name=smh/> ==References== {{reflist}} {{geo-stub}} [[Category:Rivers of the Northern Territory]]