CARPENTARIA, Gulf of, an extensive arm of the sea deeply indenting the north coast of Australia, between 10° 40' and 17° 30' S. lat., and 136° and 142’ E. long. It averages 350 miles in length and breadth, and is bounded on the E. by York Peninsula, and on the W. by Arnhem Land. At its south-east corner is situated a group of islands of which the largest is Wellesley; and towards the western side are the Sir Edward Pellew Islands and the Groote Eylandt. A large number of rivers find their way to the gulf, and some of them are of considerable size. On the eastern side there is the Mitchell River; at the southeast corner the Gilbert, the Flinders, the Leichhardt or Disaster, and the Gregory or Albert; and on the west the Roper River. Jan Carstensz, who undertook a voyage of discovery in this part of the globe in 1623, gave the name of Carpentier to a small river near Cape Duifken in honour of Pieter Carpentier, at that time governor-general of the Dutch Indies; and after the second voyage of Abel Tasman in 1644, the gulf, which he had successfully explored, began to appear on the charts under its present designation.