Katherine is a town in Northern Territory, Australia. It is situated on the Katherine River (after which it is named) below the "Top End", 320 kilometres (200 mi) southeast of Darwin. It is the fourth largest settlement in the Territory. Katherine had an urban population of 6,094 on the 2011 Census night. Katherine is also the closest major town to RAAF Base Tindal located 17 km southeast and provides education, health, local government services and employment opportunities for the families of Defence personnel stationed there.