| Chapman River [1] | |
|---|---|
 Bridge over the Chapman River, Geraldton, 1946 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Yuna |
| • elevation | 270 metres (886 ft) [2] |
| Mouth | |
• location | Bluff Point |
| Length | 105 km (65 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,644 km2 (635 sq mi) [3] |
Chapman River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
The river arises on the Victoria Plateau east of Northampton. It flows in a southerly direction, passing through the town of Nabawa in the Shire of Chapman Valley, and continuing south to about the latitude of Geraldton. It then descends to the coastal plain, turning to the west-north-west and disgorging into the Indian Ocean at Bluff Point in Champion Bay. [4] Tributaries of the river include Chapman River East, Skelton Gully, Una Brook and Rushy Gully.
Most of the Chapman River's 1,160 km² catchment consists of cleared agricultural land. This land is heavily fertilised and subject to soil erosion, so the river carries high concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorophyll a. This, together with the encroachment of urban areas into the river's riparian zone, has resulted in a degraded river system with eutrophic lower reaches. [4]
The river generally does not flow in summer, but always flows in winter. From the mouth to about 1.5 km upriver, the river is estuarine. This stretch always contains some water. The mouth itself is usually closed by a sandbar, but this opens at the onset of heavy flow, and closes after flow has receded. When the sandbar is open, sea water enters the estuary, mildly affecting its salinity. [4]
During periods of very high rainfall, soils are washed into the river and carried out to sea. Following heavy rains in June and July 1986, it was estimated that the Chapman River washed 39,000 tons of suspended sediment into the ocean, representing the loss of some A$73,000 of soil nitrogen.
The Chapman River's riparian zone is managed as part of the Chapman Regional Wildlife Corridor Project, and much of it is afforded some protection by the declaration of regional parks within the zone, such as Spalding Park. [4]
The Chapman River was named on 7 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey while on his second disastrous expedition along the Western Australian coast, [5] and was probably named after John Chapman, later a British Conservative Member of Parliament but then deputy chairman of the Western Australian Company. [6] Chapman was a business partner of Grey's friend Sir William Hutt (Chairman of the Western Australian Company and brother of John Hutt, second Governor of Western Australia), after whom Grey had named the nearby Hutt River, two days previously. [7] [5] [8]
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. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or above it, which poses a danger to navigation. Shoals are also known as sandbanks, sandbars, or gravelbars. Two or more shoals that are either separated by shared troughs or interconnected by past or present sedimentary and hydrographic processes are referred to as a shoal complex.
Goat Rock Beach is a sand beach in northwestern Sonoma County, California, United States. This landform is a sub-unit of Sonoma Coast State Beach, owned and managed by the State of California. At the northern terminus of Goat Rock Beach is the mouth of the Russian River, and the southern end of this crescent shaped expanse is the massive Goat Rock, an iconic outcrop of the Sonoma Coast, which is barely attached to the mainland by a narrow isthmus.
The Murchison River is the second longest river in Western Australia. It flows for about 820 km (510 mi) from the southern edge of the Robinson Ranges to the Indian Ocean at Kalbarri. The Murchison-Yalgar-Hope river system is the longest river system in Western Australia. It has a mean annual flow of 208 gigalitres, although in 2006, the peak year on record since 1967, flow was 1,806 gigalitres.
Bulimba Creek, originally known as Doboy Creek or Doughboy Creek, is a perennial stream that is a tributary of the Brisbane River, located in suburban Brisbane in the South East region of Queensland, Australia.
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".
The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geological and biological zone, one of Western Australia's Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia regions. It is also one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger West Australian Shield division.
The Gascoyne River is a river in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. At 865 kilometres (537 mi), it is the longest river in Western Australia.
Moore River (Garban) is a river in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
The Greenough River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
The Cumberland Plain, also known as Cumberland Basin, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. An IBRA biogeographic region, Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the Permian-Triassic Sydney Basin found between Sydney and the Blue Mountains, and it is a structural sub-basin of the Sydney Basin.
Hill River is a river in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
The Fitzgerald River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
The Irwin River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 9 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey, while on his second disastrous exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast, after his friend Major Frederick Irwin, the Commandant of the Swan River settlement.
Hutt River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
Gregory is a small town and fishing port located 7 km (4.3 mi) northwest of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Gregory had a population of 64 in 83 dwellings. Most of the dwellings are holiday houses. The population of Gregory fluctuates depending on tourism; with the town at full capacity during school holidays and throughout the summer. During the census 50% of dwellings were unoccupied.
Stokes Inlet is an inlet in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
Hutt Lagoon is a marine salt lake located near the Indian Ocean coast 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
The Bowes River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 6 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey while on his second exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast. It was named for Mary Bowes, Dowager Countess of Strathmore, the wife of Sir William Hutt. Hutt was a British Liberal politician who was heavily involved in the colonization of New Zealand and South Australia, and the brother of John Hutt, the second governor of Western Australia. Sir William Hutt was a member of the 1836 select committee on Disposal of Lands in the British Colonies. Grey named the nearby Hutt River after Hutt.
The Buller River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia, near Geraldton.
28°43′43″S114°37′11″E / 28.72861°S 114.61972°E
Rivers of Western Australia | |
|---|---|
| Rivers of the Gascoyne region | |
| Rivers of the Goldfields–Esperance region | |
| Rivers of the Great Southern region | |
| Rivers of the Kimberley region |
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| Rivers of the Mid West region | |
| Rivers of the Peel and Perth regions | |
| Rivers of the Pilbara region | |
| Rivers of the South West region | |
| Rivers of the Wheatbelt region | |
