Draining the Alma Range, part of the western slopes of the
Great Dividing Range, the northernmost headwaters of the river begin as Torrens Creek, inland from
Charters Towers. The watercourse becomes the Thomson just north of the town of
Muttaburra, where the channels of Landsborough River, Towerhill Creek and Cornish Creek meet. Aramac Creek joins the river from the east, at Camoola south of Muttaburra and Maneroo Creek flows from the west, joining the Thomson south of
Longreach. Just to the west of Longreach the river is crossed by the
Landsborough Highway. The river continues in a south westerly direction, passing the towns of Longreach,
Stonehenge and
Jundah, before reaching its
confluence with the
Barcoo River, 40 km north of
Windorah, to form
Cooper Creek. This is the only place in the world where the confluence of two rivers form a creek. From source to
mouth, the Thomson is joined by 41 named
tributaries over its 350 km (210 miles) course. Due to the flat nature of the country traversed, the river can then become many kilometres wide. For much of the time, however, the river does not flow, and becomes a line of
billabongs, of which fifteen are named. The area through which the river flows is
semi-arid blacksoil plains. The main industries of the area are
sheep and
beef cattle. ==See also==