Kalgan River

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Kalgan River
Mouth of the Kalgan River at the Lower Kalgan Bridge

Mouth of the Kalgan River at the Lower Kalgan Bridge

Data
location Western Australia , Australia
River system Kalgan River
source near Kendenup (southwest of the Stirling Range National Park )
34 ° 31 ′ 17 ″  S , 117 ° 38 ′ 1 ″  E
Source height 199  m
muzzle at Kalgan in the Oyster Harbor ( Great Australian Bight ) Coordinates: 34 ° 57 ′ 9 ″  S , 117 ° 58 ′ 41 ″  E 34 ° 57 ′ 9 ″  S , 117 ° 58 ′ 41 ″  E
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference 199 m
Bottom slope 1.8 ‰
length 108 km
Catchment area 2562 km²
Left tributaries Young River , Boonawarrup Creek
Right tributaries Gaalgegup Creek , Stony Creek , Napier Creek
Flowing lakes Meriwarbelup Pool , Noorubup Pool
Medium-sized cities Albany
Communities Kenderup
Kalgan River at Kamballup between Stirling Range National Park and Porongurup National Park

Kalgan River at Kamballup between Stirling Range National Park and Porongurup National Park

The Kalgan River is a river in the southwest of the Australian state of Western Australia . It is located in the Great Southern region .

geography

The river has its source southwest of the Stirling Ranges , south of Kendenup and initially flows to the southeast. South of the Stirling Ranges, it turns its course to the south and flows 10 kilometers northeast of Albany , at the town of the same name Kalgan , in the Oyster Harbor , where the King River also flows. The last 9 kilometers of the river are a flooded river valley with steep flanks covered with forest, meadows and fields. Occasionally, bare rock comes to light.

At 53.4 million m³ / year, the Kalgan River is the fourth largest river in the area and its catchment area is the third largest at 2,562 km².

The upper reaches of the Kalgan River is protected in the national park and has only a low salinity, which suggests that it is natural. The loss of natural vegetation downstream - 66% of the catchment area there has been cleared - led to an increase in salinity in the lower reaches. The last kilometers of the river are an estuary . A rock step at the Upper Kalgan Bridge separates this estuary from the rest of the river.

Tributaries with mouth heights

Flowing lakes

history

The Kalgan River was named Rivière des Français in 1803 by the French Scientific Expedition, led by Captaine Nicolas Baudin on the Géographe anchored in what is now Frenchmas Bay . Early settlers knew the river as the French River . The researcher Dr. Alexander Collie registered the river as Kal-gan-up in April 1831 . This name is said to mean "place of many waters" in the language of the local Aborigines , the Noongar . The interpretation “place of many fish” is also possible, and there are still remains of Aboriginal fish traps that support this thesis.

flora

The lush vegetation of the Kalgan River estuary is dominated by saltwater myrtle heather trees surrounded by dense sour grass and coastal ledges .

There are many more diverse species in the freshwater lower reaches of the river. The forest there consists of swamp myrtle heather, marri ( Corymbia calophylla ), jarrah ( Eucalyptus marginata ), Tyxandria juniperina and West Australian peppermint trees ( Agonis flexuosa ). Further inland one can find species such as Swamp Yate ( Eucalyptus cornuta ), Flooded Gum ( Eucalyptus rudis ) and various Banksia and Hakea .

Parts of the cleared bank areas provide habitat for introduced, shallow-rooted weeds. On the areas on which the native, deep-rooted species no longer grow, the erosion of the bank areas became a problem. Wildflowers abound along the Luke Pen Walk , a path that follows the river for the last 9 km before it joins Oyster Harbor . Some of these wildflowers are the Ordinary Hovea ( Hovea trisperma ), the devil needle ( Hovea pungens ), the Baumhovea ( Hovea elliptica ), the basket flower ( Adenanthos obovatus ), the curry flower ( Lysinema ciliatum ), the beard oats ( Leucopogeon pulchelus ), the parrot Busch ( Banksia sessilis ), the pingle ( Banksia squarrosa ) and the wire acacia ( Acacia extensa ).

fauna

The Kalgan River estuary is considered good fishing water. Many species are found there, such as B. Mullets , herrings , mulloway ( Argyrosomus japonicus ) and Sillaginidae . The Kalgan River is also known as an insider tip for fishing for bream . Some of the largest bream in the state have been caught there. Smaller freshwater fish in the Kalgan River are the Western Galaxies ( Galaxias occidentalis ), the Common Galaxies ( Galaxias maculatus ), the Galaxiella munda, and Codfish ( Nannatherina balston , Bostockia porosa, and Edelia vittata ).

There are also a number of birds on the river. In the estuary there are species such as the Australian Pelican , the Little Black Cormorant , the Australian Pied Cormorant , the Australian oystercatchers , the stilt , the sandpiper , the Australian White Ibis , the straw-necked ibis , the yellow-billed spoonbill , the Pacific Gull and the Caspian tern . Numerous species of birds also live on the freshwater sections of the river, such as For example, the gray beard Falke , the Small Falcon ( Falco longipennis ), the wedge-tailed eagle , Carnaby's Black Cockatoo , the Baudin's Black Cockatoo , the Rosakakadu , the Nacktaugenkakadu , the purple-crowned lorikeet , the cap parakeet , the Jägerliest , the garden fantail , the Weißbrustschnäpper , the Australian Singer , the white-eyed honeyeater , the red acacia bird ( Anthochaera carunculata ) and the red -eared amadine .

The amphibians in and around the river are frogs, such as the Western Banjo ( Limnodynastes dorsalis ) and the Moaning Frog ( Heleioporus eyrei ). Reptiles such as the tiger otter and the dugite ( Pseudonaja affinis ) are also common.

bridges

There are two bridges of note at the southern end of the Kalgan River. The Upper Kalgan Bridge and the Lower Kalgan Bridge .

The latter was opened in March 1905. With a length of 274 meters, it was the longest bridge of its kind over water in the state at the time. At that time the bridge had a special passage for ships, 12 meters wide, at the deepest point of the river. This first bridge existed until 1958. Then it was replaced by a new bridge, which however no longer had a passage for ships. The cables of the ship passage of the old bridge were set up at the west end of the new bridge.

Islands

There are many small islands in the Kalgan River, especially in the section below the Upper Kalgan Bridge . The largest of these is Honeymoon Island (also known as Elbow Island ), which is located a little upstream from the Lower Kalgan Bridge . This island has a flat shore, so it is easy to land. A smaller island, Willie Island , lies just below the Upper Kalgan Bridge .

Dream time

The Kalgan River is of great importance to the Noongar. A dream tale tells of a husband and wife who lived on the river section near Porongurup . The man beat his wife terribly, but she managed to escape him through the thicket. As the woman ran through the bush, her grave stick left a trail on the earth. He parted the earth behind her and so the course of the Kalgan River was created.

Luke Pen Walk

The Luke Pen Walk is a footpath that follows the Kalgan River. It was built in 1997. The trail is described as easy as the terrain is generally flat and level. Its total length is 9 kilometers and the way there and back can take up to four hours. The way was named after Dr. Luke Pen , a biologist from the area who did a great job preserving nature. The path was named after the scientist's death in 2002. The north end of the path is on the east bank, near the Upper Kalgan Bridge , the south end at the end of the East Bank Road , about 3 kilometers north of the Lower Kalgan Bridge .

Web links

Commons : Kalgan River  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

literature

  • Peter Muirden & Luke Pen & Marnie Leybourne: Stream and catchment hydrology in South West Western Australia Perth , Western Australian Dept. of Environment 2003. Department of Environment river restoration, 1442-6919; Report no. RR19. ISBN 1-920849-24-6
  • Luke J. Pen, June Hutchinson (Editor) (1999) Managing our rivers: A guide to the nature and management of the streams of south-west Western Australia . Water and Rivers Commission. East Perth 1999. ISBN 0-7309-7450-2

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Map of Kalgan River, WA . Bonzle.com
  2. ^ South Coast River Care - Kalgan River . 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved on May 26, 2007.
  3. ↑ About Australia: Kalgan River - Natural Attractions . 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved on May 26, 2007.
  4. ^ WA Planning Commission - Lower Great Southern Strategy Background Paper - Water Resources . 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2007.
  5. ^ History of River Names - Kalgan River . Landgate ( Memento from January 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Jinnunger vineyard website . 2007. Archived from the original on August 20, 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2007.
  7. ^ Albany Waterways Resource Book . 1999. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  8. ^ Albany Visitor Center - Wildflowers . 2007. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  9. ↑ Albany Gateway - aquatic wonders . 2007. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  10. ↑ Fishing WA - Kalgan River Bream . 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  11. ^ Native Freshwater Fishes of South-Western Australia . 2005. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  12. ↑ Eremaea Birds - Lower Kalgan River . 2007. Archived from the original on September 13, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  13. ^ Albany Waterways Resource Book: The Albany waterways and their catchments . 1999. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
  14. ^ Lower Kalgan Progress Association . 2007. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2007.
  15. ↑ Noongars and whaling in the South-West . 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2007.
  16. ^ Southern Prospects 2004-2009 . 2007. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved on August 25, 2008.
  17. ^ Albany Local Knowledge . 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
  18. ↑ Ecoplan News 2002 . 2002. Accessed on August 25, 2008.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.dec.wa.gov.au