Length 210 km Basin area 52,662 km² Mouth elevation 0 | Basin area 52,662 km² Mouth Lake Macleod | |
- average 44,847 m/s (1,583,757 cu ft/s) | ||
The Minilya River is a river in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
Location and features
The headwaters of the river rise in the south-west of the Black Range and flows in a generally westerly direction, joined by three minor tributaries; Minilya River South, Bee Well Creek and Naughton Creek. The river is crossed by the North West Coastal Highway near the Minilya Roadhouse and then later discharges into Lake MacLeod. The area is semi-arid with a landscape of woodland and scrub used for sheep and cattle grazng. The Minilya River descends 278 metres (912 ft) over its 269-kilometre (167 mi) course.
The name of the river is aboriginal in origin but its meaning is unknown. The first Europeans to discover the river were the explorers who named it; Charles Brockman and George Hamersley who visited the area in 1876. Brockman and Hamersley also named the Lyndon River and Brockman later took up a 40,000 acres (16,187 ha) lease known as Boolathana then another property, Minilya Station.
The traditional owners of the area is the Targari and Baljungu peoples.
The soils throughout the river basin are eroded and the regional ecology is degraded as a result of cattle grazing from the numerous pastoral stations found through the area. As a result, fencing has been installed through the length of the river, water tanks and troughs installed and establishment of new grazing yards.
The Minilya is prone to occasional flooding following heavy rain events as it did in 1905. More flooding occurred 1918 when Minilya Station recorded 7.58 inches (193 mm) in just over two months isolating the homestead. Further flooding occurred in 1942 with many station homesteads being left isolated.