Wooramel | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Australia |
State | Western Australia |
Region | Gascoyne |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | McLeod Pyramid |
• coordinates | 25°47′12″S116°40′23″E / 25.78667°S 116.67306°E |
• elevation | 357 m (1,171 ft) |
Mouth | Shark Bay |
• location | near Herald Loop |
• coordinates | 25°52′59″S114°13′57″E / 25.88306°S 114.23250°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Length | 363 km (226 mi) |
Basin size | 40,500 km2 (15,600 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | mouth |
[1] [2] |
The Wooramel River is an ephemeral river [2] in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
The river rises near McLeod Pyramid and flows in a westerly direction, joined by six tributaries including the Wooramel River North, Bilung Creek, One Gum Creek and Nyarra Creek. [1] The river is crossed by the Carnarvon-Mullewa Road near Pandara, through the Carandibby Range, and crossed by the North West Coastal Highway near the Wooramel Roadhouse, then discharging into Shark Bay and the Indian Ocean near Herald Loop. The catchment area has been approximately 40% cleared. [3] The river descends 357 metres (1,171 ft) over its 363 kilometres (226 mi) course. [1]
The river has a non-pristine estuary that has been mostly unmodified.
The estuary contains the seagrass Ruppia megacarpa and is naturally open to the ocean for two to six weeks per year, usually following a wet winter or a cyclonic event. [3]
Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The 23,000-square-kilometre (8,900 sq mi) area is located approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage Site reads:
North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The 1,300-kilometre-long (808 mi) road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and largely arid landscapes. Carnarvon is the only large settlement on the highway, and is an oasis within the harsh surrounding environment. The entire highway is allocated National Route 1, part of Australia's Highway 1, and parts of the highway are included in tourist routes Batavia Coast Tourist Way and Cossack Tourist Way. Economically, North West Coastal Highway is an important link to the Mid West, Gascoyne and Pilbara regions, supporting the agricultural, pastoral, fishing, and tourism industries, as well as mining and offshore oil and gas production.
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.
The Shark Bay Marine Park is protected marine park located within the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Shark Bay, in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The 748,725-hectare (1,850,140-acre) marine park is situated over 800 km (500 mi) north of Perth and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north of Geraldton.
Port Hacking Estuary, an open youthful tide dominated, drowned valley estuary, is located in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Sydney central business district. Port Hacking has its source in the upper reaches of the Hacking River south of Helensburgh, and several smaller creeks, including South West Arm, Bundeena Creek and The Basin and flows generally to the east before reaching its mouth, the Tasman Sea, south of Cronulla and north–east of Bundeena. Its tidal effect is terminated at the weir at Audley, in the Royal National Park. The lower estuary features a substantial marine delta, which over time has prograded upstream. There is also a substantial fluvial of the Hacking River at Grays Point. The two deltas are separated by a deep basin.
Leschenault Estuary is an estuarine lagoon that lies to the north of Bunbury, Western Australia. It had in the past met the Indian Ocean at the Leschenault Inlet, but that has been altered by harbour works for Bunbury, and the creation of The Cut north of the historical inlet location.
The Fitzgerald River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
Wooramel Seagrass Bank is a large deposit of carbonate sediment, a sand bank, formed by diverse communities of seagrasses off the coast of Carnarvon, Western Australia. The mattes of seagrass meadows and stands consolidate a shallow platform of sandy substrate by acting as an organic baffle against currents and tides. These colonies provide food and shelter to many of the species within the Shark Bay Marine Park.
The Seagrasses of Western Australia are submerged flowering plants found along the coast, around islands, and in Estuaries of Western Australia. The region contains some of the largest seagrass meadows in the world, and is the most diverse in the number of species. The variety of habitats along its western and southern coasts is often soft sands in shallow subtropical waters, ideal for these plants.
The Fortescue River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the third longest river in the state.
Irwin Inlet is an inlet in the located on the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
The Steere River is a river in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
The Sherlock River is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was named on 11 July 1861 by the surveyor and explorer Frank Gregory while on expedition in the area.
The Yule River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was named on 10 August 1861 by the surveyor and explorer Frank Gregory while on expedition in the area, after Thomas Newte Yule, at times farmer of Toodyay, winemaker, Acting Colonial Secretary and Magistrate.
The Cane River is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. With its headwaters rising west of the Hamersley Range, the river flows in a north-westerly direction through the Cane River Conservation Park and over the Onslow Coastal Plain, and eventually discharges into the Indian Ocean near Yardie Landing approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-east of Onslow.
The Turner River is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Gordon Inlet is an estuarine inlet, located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The inlet is at the south west corner of the Fitzgerald River National Park and approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi) north west of the town of Bremer Bay.
Wellstead Estuary is an estuarine inlet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
The Hamersley River is an ephemeral river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
Wooramel Station is a pastoral lease and sheep station located 78 kilometres (48 mi) east of Denham and 113 kilometres (70 mi) south east of Carnarvon in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.