Ross Creek (Central Queensland)

Last updated

Ross Creek (Yeppoon)
Queensland
Yeppoon2011-05.JPG
Beak Bridge over Ross Creek
Australia Queensland location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ross Creek (Yeppoon)
Coordinates 23°8′31″S150°45′20″E / 23.14194°S 150.75556°E / -23.14194; 150.75556 Coordinates: 23°8′31″S150°45′20″E / 23.14194°S 150.75556°E / -23.14194; 150.75556
Postcode(s) 4703
Location
LGA(s) Rockhampton Region
State electorate(s) Keppel
Federal Division(s) Capricornia

Ross Creek is the main ocean tributary of Yeppoon, Queensland, on the Capricorn Coast. Beak Bridge crosses Ross Creek, connecting Yeppoon with Cooee Bay and other southern towns along Scenic Highway 10.

Contents

Community

While Ross Creek has no permanent population, it is a major community centre with a park, boat ramp, and public barbecues. Markets at Ross Creek are held every month.  Ross Creek is best known for its fishing.

On the low tide, muddy sandbars on the southern side of the bridge are revealed, and are a popular place for pumping for yabbies.

On the incoming tide, the creek fills to near capacity. Man-made stone walls on either side of the creek, plus a sandy beach at the mouth provide plentiful fishing spots. Whiting, flathead, and silver bream are common catches.

Flora and fauna

Sandy at its mouth, Ross Creek becomes muddier on the other side of the bridge and is popular for mud crabs.  Hectares of low lying land either side of Ross Creek fills at high tide, providing the perfect environment for mangroves to grow. In turn, the mangroves give shelter to crustaceans, prawns, and fish. Queensland Government studies have identified ten different species of mangrove in the Ross Creek-Fig Tree Creek system. [1]

Ross Creek is also famous as a breeding ground for colonies of flying foxes. The mangroves provide a permanent home for approximately 2,000 black flying foxes (Pteropus alecto), as well as a seasonal camp for several hundred thousand little red flying foxes (Pteropus scapulatus). [2]

History

Prior to Local Government Amalgamations in 2008, all areas on the Capricorn Coast were administered by Livingstone Shire Council but are now part of Rockhampton Region.

Several trawlers still berth in Ross Creek, the remnants of an intensive sea scallop fishing industry based at Ross Creek up until Rosslyn Bay took shape in the 1970s.

Also visible on the eastern wall by the creek mouth are the remains of a concrete-and-stone salt water pool that was built in the 1950s as a safe swimming place for children.

See also

Related Research Articles

Yeppoon Town in Queensland, Australia

Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Twenty-five minutes from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the principal town on the Capricorn Coast, a string of seaside communities stretching more than 150 kilometres (93 mi) from north to south. The beaches and shallow coves provide a destination both for tourists and retirees settling down in Central Queensland. Offshore, there are 27 islands including Great Keppel Island which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Yeppoon.

Capricorn Coast Region in Queensland, Australia

The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone. The region straddles the Tropic of Capricorn, after which it is named.

Sundarbans National Park National Park, Tiger Reserve, and Biosphere Reserve in West Bengal, India

The Sundarbans National Park is a national park, tiger reserve, and biosphere reserve in West Bengal, India. It is part of the Sundarbans on the Ganges Delta, and adjacent to the Sundarban Reserve Forest in Bangladesh. The delta is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger. It is also home to a variety of bird, reptile and invertebrate species, including the salt-water crocodile. The present Sundarban National Park was declared as the core area of Sundarban Tiger Reserve in 1973 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1977. On 4 May 1984 it was declared a national park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1987, and it has been designated as a Ramsar site since 2019. It is considered as a World Network of Biosphere Reserve from 1989.

Roebuck Bay Western Australia

Roebuck Bay is a bay on the coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its entrance is bounded in the north by the town of Broome, and in the south by Bush Point and Sandy Point. It is named after HMS Roebuck, the ship captained by William Dampier when he explored the coast of north-western Australia in 1699. The Broome Bird Observatory lies on the northern coast of the bay.

Grey-headed flying fox species of mammal

The grey-headed flying fox is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus Pteropus: the little red P. scapulatus, spectacled P. conspicillatus, and the black P. alecto.

Mouth of Baffle Creek Conservation Park Protected area in Queensland, Australia

The Mouth of Baffle Creek Conservation Parks are a series of two protected conservation parks located adjacent to the mouth of the Baffle Creek, on the central coastal region of Queensland, Australia.

Spectacled flying fox species of mammal

The spectacled flying fox, also known as the spectacled fruit bat, is a megabat that lives in Australia's north-eastern regions of Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea and on the offshore islands including Woodlark Island, Alcester Island, Kiriwina, and Halmahera.

Black flying fox species of mammal

The black flying fox or black fruit bat is a bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is among the largest bats in the world, but is considerably smaller than the largest species in its genus, Pteropus. The black flying fox is native to Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. It is not a threatened species.

Lake Awoonga lake in Queensland, Australia

Lake Awoonga was formed on the Boyne River by the dam located 30 km (19 mi) from Gladstone, in Central Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 30 minutes drive from Gladstone, via Benaraby.

Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area

Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area is a heritage-listed military installation at Byfield Road, Byfield, Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. It is a large, relatively undisturbed and intact natural system with a wide variety of coastal landforms and a high level of biodiversity. It contains a diverse range of marine and coastal wetland landscapes, vegetation types and ecosystems. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Bramble Bay bight in Australia

Bramble Bay is an embayment of Moreton Bay in South East Queensland, Australia. The Brisway map reference is 12 H5, or see page 91 G19 in Refidex.

Innes Park, Queensland Town in Queensland, Australia

Innes Park is a coastal town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is 360 kilometres (224 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. At the 2016 census, Innes Park had a population of 2302.

Coombabah Lake Conservation Park Protected area in Queensland, Australia

The Coombabah Lake Conservation Park is a conservation park that is an Important Wetland in Australia, located in the Gold Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia. Part of the Coomera River catchment, Lake Coombabah is a tidal lake at the mouth of Coombabah Creek. The Coombabah wetlands are significant because they are the most southerly lake and coastal swampland representatives in the bioregion, and because the area provides significant wildlife value and refuge habitat. The conservation area includes tidal marshlands and mangroves along part of the lakes edge. The Melaleuca boardwalk allows viewing of the wildlife. The mangroves are home to frogs, crabs and fish that attract native and migratory birds. There are guided bushwalking and canoeing activities as part of community conservation and environmental workshops to promote local conservation.

Currumbin Creek river in Queensland, Australia

The Currumbin Creek is a creek located in South East Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast local government area and covers an area of 489 square kilometres (189 sq mi). The river is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) in length and provides a popular and tranquil setting for many rowing clubs, kayakers, jet skiers, boat-goers and fishermen.

Susan River (Queensland) river in Queensland, Australia

The Susan River is a river located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia.

Bohle River river in Queensland, Australia

The Bohle River is a river located in North Queensland, Australia.

Australian mangroves Distribution of Australian mangroves

Australia has approximately 11,500 km2 of mangroves, primarily on the northern and eastern coasts of the continent. Areas where mangroves occur include the intertidal zone of tropical, subtropical and protected temperate coastal rivers, estuaries, bays and marine shorelines. Less than 1% of Australia's total forest area is mangrove forest.

Ennore creek is a backwater located in Ennore, Chennai along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. It is located in the zone comprising lagoons with salt marshes and backwaters, submerged under water during high tide and forming an arm of the sea with the opening to the Bay of Bengal at the creek. The zone is spread over an area of 4 km2, and the creek covers an area of 2.25 km2. It is located 20 km north of the city centre and 2.6 km south of the Ennore Port, and the creek area stretches 3 km into the sea and 5 km along the coast. The creek is nearly 400 m wide, elongated in northeast–southwest direction and merging with the backwater bodies. Once a flourishing mangrove swamp, the creek has been degraded to patches in the fringes mainly due to human activities in the region. The depth of the creek varies from 1 to 2 m and is shallow near the mouth. The north–south trending channels of the creek connect it with the Pulicat Lake to the north and to the distributaries of the Kosasthalaiyar River in the south. The northwestern part of the creek merges with the tidal flats. The soil in the region is of loamy and alluvial types. Most of the area consists of tracts of alluvial soil and the eastern region comprises beach dunes, tidal flats and creek. The creek is oriented from west to east and opens into the Bay of Bengal to the east at Ennore. The creek acts as an outlet for the excess water from the Poondi Reservoir. The creek separates the town of Ennore from the Ennore Port located in the north and the Kattupalli Shipyard located further north. The North Chennai Thermal Power Station is located at the north of the creek and the Ennore Thermal Power Station is located to the south. The creek is part of the Pulicat water system, including the Pulicat lagoon and the Buckingham Canal. As per the 1991 Coastal Regulation Zone notification, the entire Pulicat water system is designated CRZ I. The creek is experiencing siltation due to emergence of the Ennore Port.

Cooee Bay Town in Queensland, Australia

Cooee Bay is a coastal locality on the Capricorn Coast in Queensland, Australia. It is within the local government area of Shire of Livingstone.

Old Byfield Road

Old Byfield Road is a heritage-listed road at Old Byfield Road, Byfield, Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1860s to 1940s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 July 2004.

References

  1. "Ross and Figtree Creek Draft Management Plan 2.2.1 Flora Values" (PDF). Dept of Environment and Resource Management. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  2. "Ross and Figtree Creek Draft Management Plan 2.2.2 Fauna Values" (PDF). Dept of Environment and Resource Management. Retrieved 23 December 2011.