The Dry Todd River ..... just coarse brown sand and gum trees in the Dry. The Todd River catchment above Alice Springs covers an area of 445 km2 and is located in the geographical centre of Australia. Flowing in basically a southerly direction, the mainstream length of the Todd River is approximately 50 km. The climate of the catchment is typically arid continental with large daily temperature variations. Rain, which falls infrequently may occur at any time of the year and is often due to thunderstorm activity caused by convective processes. The mean annual rainfall is about 260 mm and the average monthly rainfalls range from 40 mm in February to 9 mm in September. The summer months have the higher average rainfalls.

The maximum catchment elevation exceeds 900 m and the streams are generally very wide and shallow with a sandy bed. The upper northern part of the catchment is composed of fairly flat red soil plains and the catchment boundary in this area is difficult to determine. The Arunta Complex hills form the north-eastern and central part of the catchment above Alice Springs. This area is made up of rolling, occasionally steep, rocky hills into which the river and other drainage channels have cut steep-sided rocky gorges. The ground surface is mostly broken, angular, granite-gneiss rock with exposed rock outcrops and occasional sandy flats. The vegetation cover is highly dependant on the amount of rainfall seasonally and annually, but is generally sparse.

Vegetation in the catchment area ranges from grasses and scrubs (Acacia) to low shrublands and woodlands. Landuse in the catchment are primarily Pastoral (grazing) Lease and National Park Reserves (Telegraph Station and Simpson’s Gap). The only significant urban region is Alice Springs. Tourism is a significant local industry. See the website: www.bom.gov.au/hydro/wr/unesco/friend/todd/todd.shtml
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