South West drainage division

The south-west corner drainage region of Western Australia is one of only two temperate and relatively fertile parts of mainland Australia. It covers about 140,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi), or a little less than 2% of the continent. For comparison, this is about the same size as North Carolina or a little larger than England.

This article is about the drainage division. For other uses, see South West, Western Australia.

The landscape is generally flat and sandy but there are several major features, in particular the Stirling Range near Albany, which reach 1,096 metres (3,596 ft) at their highest point, and the Darling Scarp.

The climate is temperate Mediterranean. Summers are warm to hot and dry, winters are cool and wet. Mountains near the coast concentrate rainfall in that area, with parts of the extreme south-western corner receiving as much as 1,400 mm (55 in) per year. Away from the coast, however, precipitation drops rapidly, with inland areas averaging about 250 mm (9.8 in) per year.

Western Australian drainage divisions include:

Other Australian drainage divisions include:

See also

References
  • Beard, J. S. (1999) Evolution of the river systems of the south-west drainage division, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, Dec. 1999, p. 147-164'
  • Olsen, Graeme. and Skitmore, E. The state of the rivers of the South West Drainage Division Leederville, W.A : Western Australian Water Resources Council, 1991. Water resource perspectives Publication ; no. 2/91 ISBN 0-7309-3727-5
  • Schofiled, N.J. et al. ( 1989) Vegetation strategies to reduce stream salinities of water resource catchments in southwest Western Australia : prepared for the Steering Committee for Research on Land Use and Water Supply Leederville, W.A : Water Authority of Western Australia . Report (Water Authority of Western Australia) ; no. WS 33. ISBN 0-7309-1774-6
  • South West Catchments Council South West regional strategy for natural resource management Bunbury, W.A.: South West Catchments Council ISBN 0-9757297-0-5

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