Todd River

The Todd River (Arrernte: Lhere Mparntwe / Lhere Imatukua / Artepe Ulpaye) is an ephemeral river in the southern Northern Territory, central Australia. The origins of the Todd River are in the MacDonnell Ranges, where it flows past the Alice Springs Telegraph Station and then almost through the centre of Alice Springs (Mparntwe). It then flows out of Alice Springs through Heavitree Gap, to the south, and through to the western part of the Simpson Desert, as it becomes a tributary of the Hale River, and eventually flowing into Lake Eyre in South Australia.

The Arrernte people know this river as Lhere Mparntwe (Eastern Arrernte pronunciation: [l̪ərə ᵐbaⁿɖʷə]) where it runs through Alice Springs and Lhere Imatukua (Eastern Arrernte pronunciation: [l̪ərə imatukua]) as a whole. These names were recorded by TGH Strehlow in "Songs of Central Australia".

The Todd River's English name, and that of its tributary, the Charles River, were given by surveyor W. W. Mills, after Charles Todd, then South Australian Superintendent of Telegraphs and Postmaster General of South Australia, who was largely responsible for the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line.

The Todd is in a very arid part of Australia and has zero to very low flow during 95% of the year.