The Border Rivers-Gwydir catchment occupies an area of approximately 50,000 square kilometres. The principal rivers that drain the inland slopes of the eastern highlands are the Dumaresq, Severn and Macintyre. The Gwydir River is located in the south west of the Catchment.

Both the Border Rivers and Gwydir catchments are located within the Murray-Darling Basin. They are bounded by the Queensland border in the north and west, the Great Dividing Range in the east and the Namoi Catchment in the south.

The Border Rivers-Gwydir is the highest producing cotton catchment in Australia, with an average of 105 500 hectares of cotton grown annually