Blackmore River

Last updated
Blackmore
River
Country Australia
Territory Northern Territory
Source
 - location Wild Horse Plain, Australia
 - elevation 21 m (69 ft)
Mouth
 - location Darwin Harbour, Australia
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
 - coordinates 12°38′27″S130°57′03″E / 12.64083°S 130.95083°E / -12.64083; 130.95083 Coordinates: 12°38′27″S130°57′03″E / 12.64083°S 130.95083°E / -12.64083; 130.95083
Length 25 km (16 mi)
Basin 848 km2 (327 sq mi)
Australia Northern Territory relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Location of the Blackmore River mouth in the Northern Territory
[1]

Blackmore River flows into Darwin Harbour close to Darwin in the Australian Northern Territory. [2]

Darwin Harbour Body of water near Australia

Darwin Harbour is the body of water close to Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. It opens to the north at a line from Charles Point in the west to Lee Point in the east into the Beagle Gulf and connects via the Clarence Strait with the Van Diemen Gulf. It contains Port Darwin, which is flanked by Frances Bay to the east and Cullen Bay to the west.

Darwin, Northern Territory City in the Northern Territory, Australia

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory of Australia, situated on the Timor Sea. It is the largest city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, with a population of 145,916. It is the smallest and most northerly of the Australian capital cities, and acts as the Top End's regional centre.

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Contents

Course

The headwaters of the river rise at an elevation of 21 metres (69 ft) on the Wild Horse Plain and flow northwards past Tumbling Waters and through the Blackmore River Conservation Reserve. The river eventually discharges into Port Darwin and then the Timor Sea.

Timor Sea A sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia

The Timor Sea is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia.

The Elizabeth River and Blackmore River catchments together occupy an area of 1,150 square kilometres (444 sq mi), [3] with the Blackmore catchment occupying 848 square kilometres (327 sq mi).

Elizabeth River (Northern Territory) river in Australia

Elizabeth River flows into Darwin Harbour close to Darwin in the Australian Northern Territory.

The estuary formed at the river mouth is tidal in nature and in near pristine condition. [4]

Estuary A partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.

Climate

The climate of the Blackmore River region is monsoon tropical with two distinct seasons: the Dry and the Wet. The Dry lasts for 6 months between April and September with an average rainfall of 24 mm, whereas the Wet lasts between October and March with an average monthly rainfall of 254 mm/month (according to the Bureau of Meteorology, 1999). The majority of the rain falls between December and April. Runoff varies between 250–1000 mm.

Peak flow for the Blackmore River occurs in February with 605Ml/day, after which it slowly decreases until July when there is no freshwater input into Darwin Harbour until the onset of the following wet season (Padovan 1997). Cyclone frequency is low to moderate. [2]

Cyclone large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low pressure

In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure. Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure. The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale. Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale. Mesocyclones, tornadoes and dust devils lie within smaller mesoscale. Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the tropical upper tropospheric trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars and Neptune. Cyclogenesis is the process of cyclone formation and intensification. Extratropical cyclones begin as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones. These zones contract and form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies. Later in their life cycle, extratropical cyclones occlude as cold air masses undercut the warmer air and become cold core systems. A cyclone's track is guided over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering flow of the subtropical jet stream.

Water quality

The water quality at the upper estuary and freshwater monitoring sites of the Department of Land Resource Management of the Northern Territory Government was 2011 in moderate condition. [5]

Geology

The underlying lithology is dominated by Permian siltstones and sandstones. [2]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Map of Blackmore River, NT". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 N Smit, R Billyard and L Ferns: Beagle Gulf Benthic Survey: Characterisation of soft substrates. Archived 2012-03-28 at the Wayback Machine . Technical Report No. 66 (2000), Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory.
  3. ↑ "Elizabeth & Blackmore River Catchments - Flood Study" (PDF). Cardno. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Australian Catchment, River and Estuary Assessment" (PDF). Natural Heritage Trust. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Blackmore River and Estuary Archived April 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine .
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