Seasonal drought of the dry season in the monsoonal wet/dry tropics parches and cracks the intertidal saltflats that fringe the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. When the wet season's spring tides combine with river floodwaters to inundate the region, huge and productive coastal wetlands are created. This site, north of the mouth of the Norman River, is a major roost of migratory shorebirds and waders on the East Asian/Australasian Flyway in season.