Fortescue River

Ophthalmia Dam during the Fortescue River

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Fortescue River is a river in the north-west of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is located in the Pilbara region and is the third longest river in the state.

Geography

River

The river originates approximately 30 kilometers south of Newman at Deadman Hill in the Ophthalmia Range. He initially flows northward along the Great Northern Highway. South of the exit Marble Bar, he turns to the west crosses the highway. The Fortescue River now follows the Marble Bar Road further north and turns at Roy Hill its course to the north- west along the southern edge of the Chichester Range. North of Munjina ( Auski ) Roadhouse he passes under the Great Northern Highway again. Along the northern border of the Karijini National Park and past the southwest corner of the Millstream -Chichester National Park is the river continues its course to the northwest. At Fortescue River Roadhouse he crosses the North West Coastal Highway and turn to the north. In Mardie Station, about 70 km south-west of Karratha, it empties into the Indian Ocean.

Catchment area

The catchment area of ​​the Fortescue River drains the southern slopes of the Chichester Range and the northern slopes of the Hamersley Range. The floor of the valley is earthy clay with inclusions of dry clay, clay and hard red soils.

The water of the Fortescue River is dammed in ophthalmia reservoir. It has a volume of 32 million cubic meters. The drinking water supply of Newman requires a total of 6.29 million m³ / year.

Fortescue Marshes

The catchment area at the headwaters of the river at the confluence of the Western Creek and the Creek Warrawanda with the Fortescue River is particularly flat and marshy. Up to Gregory Gorge ( south-west of Millstream -Chichester National Park ) the riverbed is wide and the flow consists of many arms. Only downstream of this point, the bed of the river is clearly limited and performs a series of pools.

The 960 km ² Fortescue Marshes were declared by Birdlife International for Important Bird Area (IBA ) because you can find there at high tide up to 270,000 waterfowl, including over 1 % of the global inventory of 14 species of birds. Together with only one further point also populations of the highly endangered night parakeet have been stated there the first time since 1990.

Estuary

The Estuary is a large estuary. This estuary is largely unchanged and works mainly by the energy flow of the river. The river delta is determined by the tides.

The estuary covers a total area of 23.3 km ². The largest part of the estuary consists of salt marshes and salt marshes. A colony of mangroves uses the estuary as a habitat and covers an area of ​​1.2 km ². Large female Barramundi also live in the estuary.

Tributaries with muzzle heights

  • Western Creek - 545 m
  • Warrawanda Creek - 507 m
  • Homestead Creek - 505 m
  • Shovelenna Creek - 501 m
  • Kalgan Creek - 484 m
  • Kulkinbah Creek - 412 m
  • Fortescue River South - 393 m
  • Hooley Creek - 366 m
  • Weelumurra Creek - 345 m
  • Caliwinga Creek - 330 m
  • Cowcumba Creek - 324 m
  • Kanjanjie Creek - 308 m
  • Howlett Creek - 302 m
  • Dawson Creek - 291 m
  • Mill Stream - 283 m
  • Portland River - 213 m
  • Noondathoona Creek - 196 m
  • Booyeemala Creek - 183 m
  • Cheeraworadoona Creek - 163 m
  • Bandeeyer Creek - 149 m
  • Booyeema Pool Creek - 124 m
  • Macklin Creek - 104 m
  • Tanga Tanga Creek - 71 m
  • Wallanaring Creek - 58 m

The cyclone Joan made ​​in 1975 not only for high water in the Fortescue River, but also in its tributaries Weeli Wolli Creek and Weelumurra Creek. Both rivers burst their banks and eroded the railway lines Hamersley Iron and Mt Newman.

Flushed lakes and reservoirs

  • Ophthalmia dam - 515 m
  • Fourteen Mile pool - 413 m
  • Mung Than Annie pool - 399 m
  • Mootana pool - 340 m
  • Upper Walloona pool - 333 m
  • Deep Reach Pool - 298 m
  • Crossing pool - 293 m
  • Mungowarra pool - 80 m
  • Tarda pool - 55 m

Origin of the name

The river was in 1861 by explorer Francis Gregory, named during one of his expeditions to CS Fortescue, the then Under-Secretary of the colonies.

Town Municipality Newman (Western Australia) Millstream-Chichester-Nationalpark Karratha, Western Australia Francis Thomas Gregory
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