FLY RIVER

one of the largest rivers of New Guinea, flowing almost wholly through Papua New Guinea. For a short stretch of its middle course, it forms the border between Papua New Guinea on the east and the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya on the west. Rising on the Star, Kaban, and Hindenburg ranges of the Victor Emanuel Range in the central highlands, the Fly, fed by its principal tributaries, the Strickland, Alice, and Palmer rivers, flows south and southeast for more than 700 mi (1,100 km) to the Gulf of Papua, Coral Sea. Traversing deep gorges through rain forests in its upper course, the river broadens and deepens its channel below the Palmer junction. From this junction to the sea (540 mi) the river is navigable in all seasons to boats drawing less than 8 ft (2 1/2 m) of water. This lowest stretch, in which the stream falls only about 50 ft, is bordered by open savanna-like country and swampy plains with numerous lakes. The Fly may be in flood from October to April, moving large quantities of material downstream to be deposited as shifting sandbars and islands (Kiwai, Wabuda, Purutu) in its 40-mi-wide mouth. The material, together with that transported by the Digul and other neighbouring streams, has built up an enormous plain bordering the Torres Strait. There are no settlements of any size along the river. Total indigenous population is scanty, and there are only a few coconut plantations in the area. Crocodiles are also hunted. The river was named by Captain F.P. Blackwood, of HMS Fly, who explored the estuary in 1842.