Murray River,

Murray River, the principal river of Australia. It rises in the Australian Alps, flows north-west along the frontiers of New South Wales and Victoria, and in South Australia passes southward through the shallow Lake Alexandrina towards the sea at Encounter Bay. In its 1120 miles' length it drains 270,000 sq. m.; it is navigable for small steamers as far as Albury, 190 miles NE. of Melbourne, but its mouth cannot be entered by ships of any size. The chief tributaries are the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee and the Darling (q.v.), themselves large rivers. See also AUSTRALIA, NEW SOUTH WALES, VICTORIA.