The Maroochy River is a river in South East Queensland

South East Queensland

South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...

, Australia. The river rises from the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range

Blackall Range

The Blackall Range is a mountain range in South East Queensland, Australia. The first European explorer in the area was Ludwig Leichhardt. It was named after Samuel Blackall, the second Governor of Queensland....

 and flows east through Eumundi

Eumundi, Queensland

Eumundi is a small town with 1700 residents in the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, Australia, 21 km south-west of Noosa Heads and 118 km north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located just off the Bruce Highway. Nearby towns are Yandina and Cooroy. The town's name is believed to come...

, before entering the sea at Maroochydore

Maroochydore, Queensland

Maroochydore is an urban centre on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.Maroochydore is a major commercial area of the Sunshine Coast with most shopping precincts located in the central business district. It is home to the Sunshine Plaza shopping centre and the Sunshine Coast's major bus...

. Other populated centres in the catchment include Nambour

Nambour, Queensland

The area now known as Nambour, was first settled in 1870. The town was then called Petrie's Creek. In 1890 the Maroochy Divisional Board was established...

, Eudlo

Eudlo, Queensland

Eudlo is a small hinterland town on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. The name originated from the fresh water eel. At the 2006 census, Eudlo had a population of 852.-External links:**...

, Yandina

Yandina, Queensland

Yandina is a Sunshine Coast hinterland town just off the Bruce Highway. Its name comes from 'yan', meaning "to go", and 'dinna', meaning "feet". At the 2006 census, Yandina had a population of 1,075....

 and Coolum.

The watershed of the Maroochy River encompasses 630 square kilometres (243.2 sq mi) of undulating hills which have been cleared for agriculture and urban uses. There are three dams in the catchment area including Wappa Dam

Wappa Dam

Wappa Dam is an Australian Dam located on the South Maroochy River at AMTD 32.1 km, approximately 6.5 km upstream of its confluence with the North Maroochy River. The mean annual rainfall for the catchment is approximately 1,700 mm. It has a catchment area of 72.4 km²- External...

, Cooloolabin Dam

Cooloolabin Dam

Cooloolabin Dam is located to the west of Yandina in the headwaters of the South Maroochy River waterway....

 and Poona Dam

Poona Dam

Maroochy Shire Council owns and operates three water supply dams – Poona Dam, Wappa Dam and Cooloolabin Dams. Poona Dam is predominantly used as operational storage just upstream of the water treatment plant.-External links:*...

 which total to 27997 millilitre (2.51975519755198E-06 imp fl oz) of capacity.

There are two main arms: North and South Maroochy Rivers. Tributaries of the river include Petrie Creek and its major tributary Paynter Creek, Eudlo Creek, Coolum Creek, Doonan Creek and Yandina Creek.

Significant floods on the Maroochy River have occurred in 1893, 1951, 1974 and 1992. In 1994 the Maroochy River flood warning system was setup to provide river height predictions for the Maroochy Shire Council.

The mouth of the river was affected by the 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill

2009 southeast Queensland oil spill

The 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill occurred on 11 March 2009 off the coast of southeast Queensland, Australia, in which 230 tonnes of fuel oil, 30 tonnes of other fuel and 31 shipping containers of ammonium nitrate spilled into the Coral Sea, north of Moreton Bay during Cyclone Hamish after...

, reaching about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) upstream to the Maroochy Bridge.