The Gulf
of Carpentaria: Discovery and Exploration
This article is at the Burke
Shire Council site.
See also: 'History of Burketown' in CSIRO div report 59/2, Historical
Geographic Survey of Part of Northern Aust. Part I, Eastern Gulf of Carpentaria.
F H Bauer, Canberra, Dec 1959.
Wetlands of
Burke Shire and the Gulf Savannah
The following information is summarised from Blackman. (1993).
Some 30km south-west of Burketown is a large wetland
area known as Bluebush Swamp, which is something of a birdwatchers paradise.
It consists of areas of shallow free water and is dominated by Acacia stenophylla
shrub. It looks quite spectacular from the air, and would be well worth
a visit. The co-ordinates are available at The
Wetlands Site
The largest perennial stream in arid and semi-arid
Queensland is the Gregory River, characterised by a forested wetland on
its upper reaches. The area encompasses the nationally significant Riversleigh
fossil beds associated with the Coal Creek Limestone formation.
Lignum Swamp is part of an extensive plain drained
by intermittent streams of the Carpentaria drainage system. It is vegetated
with gidgee Acacia cambagei and lignum Muehlenbeckia cunninghamii.
Marless Lagoon and Musselbrook Creek Aggregation:
Forested wetlands on upland margins grading into shrubby wetland in shallow
waters, dominated by Acacia stenophylla and Eucalyptus microtheca and with
areas of open water or macrophytes. The wetlands are characterised by Acacia
stenophylla communities - such swamps are localised in their occurrence
and apparently restricted to the north-west part of the Gulf Savannah.
Nicholson Delta Aggregation: The Nicholson, Gregory
and Albert Rivers flow from the North West Highlands into the Gulf of Carpentaria
immediately to the north-west of Burketown and flood out on the Karumba
Plain, resulting in a freshwater wetland merging with an extensive estuarine
system to form a rich complex of wetland habitats. There are deep permanent
lagoons, oxbows as well as channels (one of which appears man-made: information
anyone?)
Wentworth Aggregation: Gold and Settlement Creeks
originate in the adjacent North West highlands and drain northwards into
the Gulf of Carpentaria, north-west of Burketown. The freshwater wetlands
may vary in depth from several metres and range from seasonal to permanent.
Tidal creeks vary with flooding and tides to c.5m. The area represents
an alluvial and estuarine wetland system typical of the area, and is of
high wilderness quality.
Refugia
The composite Gregory and Nicholson River wetlands
are recognised as a refuge. Wellesley Islands deserve further investigation.
(An article has been published in Australian Geographic on Sweers Island,
12/97)
Wetlands
Waterways and Waterbirds
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