Sherlock River (Western Australia)

Sherlock River
Country Australia
Basin
Main source 470 metres (1,542 ft)[1]
River mouth sea level
Basin size 4,580 square kilometres (1,768 sq mi)[2]
Physical characteristics
Length 393 kilometres (244 mi)
Discharge
  • Average rate:
    188 GL/a (6.0 m3/s; 210 cu ft/s)

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.[3]

The headwaters of the river rise from numerous springs on the Abydos Plain below the Mungaroona Range near the western edge of the Mungaroona Range Nature Reserve then flows in a northerly direction past the Chichester Range and then continuing North. The river crosses the North West Coastal Highway near Mount Fraser before discharging into Sherlock Bay and the Indian Ocean.

The river forms a large estuary at the river mouth with an area of 89.7 square kilometres (35 sq mi)[4]

Major pools exist along the length of the river including; Coonanarrinna Pool and Weedeemilegener Pool. The main riverbed is very wide and is mostly dry, with a minor ocean outlet from a large salt marsh estuarine area that contains small areas of mangroves.

References

  1. ↑ "Bonzle Digital Atlas – Map of Sherlock River". 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  2. ↑ "Surface Hydrology of the Pilbara Region Summary" (PDF). 2000. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  3. ↑ Gregory, Augustus Charles; Gregory, Francis Thomas (1884). Journals of Australian Explorations. Brisbane: James C. Beal, Government Printer. Retrieved 26 Aug 2013.
  4. ↑ "Estuary Assessment Framework for Non-Prisitne Estuaries - Estuary 674 - Sherlock River" (PDF). 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2009.

Coordinates: 20°42′36″S 117°33′07″E / 20.71000°S 117.55194°E / -20.71000; 117.55194


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