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Hay River (Western Australia)

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Country
  
Australia

Length
  
80 km

Source
  
River mouth
  
Wilson Inletsea level

Basin area
  
1,298 kmĀ²


Main source
  
West of Mount Barker225 metres (738 ft)

Basin size
  
129,800 hectares (320,743 acres)

Discharge
  
Average rate:69,400 ML/a (2.20 m/s; 77.7 cu ft/s)

Similar
  
Wilson Inlet, Lights Beach, Kalgan River, Greens Pool, Murchison River

The Hay River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

The river was named in December 1829 by naval ship's surgeon Thomas Braidwood Wilson after Sir Robert William Hay, Permanent Under-secretary of State for the Colonies from 1825 to 1836. Wilson discovered the river while exploring the area in company with the native Mokare, John Kent (officer in charge of the Commissariat at King George Sound), two convicts and Private William Gough of the 39th Regiment, while his ship the Governor Phillips was being repaired at King George Sound.

The Hay River is part of the Denmark Catchment, which comprises Wilson Inlet, Torbay Inlet and Lake Powell, together with the catchments of the Denmark, Hay and Sleeman-Cuppup Rivers and their tributaries.

The river rises west of Mount Barker near Wilpuna Park and flows south east as far as Ungerup then flows in a south-south-westerly direction through the Mount Lindesay National Park then crossing the South Coast Highway and discharging into Wilson Inlet.

The tidal influence is 5 kilometres (3 mi) upstream from where the river flows into the inlet. The Hay River flows all year and the water quality is marginally saline to brackish. It is estimated that 70% of the catchment area has been cleared for agricultural purposes but 42% of the riparian zone was pristine.

Tributaries of the river include Sleeman Creek and Mitchell River.

References

Hay River (Western Australia) Wikipedia


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