How long is the Swan River?

The Swan River is about 67kms long. The Swan River and the Avon River are the same river and are sometimes called the Swan-Avon. The two names represent an historical habit of naming inland rivers differently to coastal ones. The Avon River ‘becomes’ the Swan River where it meets Wooroloo Brook in Walyunga National Park. Together, the Swan-Avon River is 280 kilometres long and flows from near Wickepin to the Indian Ocean at Fremantle.

How long is the Canning River?

The Canning River is about 100kms long. It flows from about 10kms north-east of North Bannister in State Forest 22 in the Darling Scarp and enters the Swan River at Melville Water between the suburbs of Como and Applecross.

What tributaries feed into the Swan River?

Swan River tributaries include the Helena River and Wooroloo, Susannah, Ellen, Bennett, Henley and Jane brooks, plus the Blackadder Creek and Bayswater and South Belmont main drains. There are also other small tributaries.

What tributaries feed into the Avon River?

The Yilgarn, Mortlock and Lockhart rivers are the main tributaries to the Avon River.

What tributaries feed into the Canning River?

Tributaries entering the Canning River include the Southern River, Churchman, Munday, Bickley, Yule and Wungong brooks, Mills Street Main Drain and Bannister Creek. There are also other small tributaries.

What is the deepest point of the Swan River?

The deepest point of the Swan River is about 21 metres at Blackwall Reach, Bicton, which is a popular scuba diving spot.

Where do the Swan and Canning rivers become an estuary?

Estuarine effects in terms of tidal forces and marine salinity can be detected as far up the Swan River as the Walyunga National Park and to the Kent Street Weir in the Canning River. Estuarine influences can be detected further up the Canning River in late autumn.

How much water is in the Swan and Canning rivers?

There are about 55 gigalitres of water in the Swan and Canning rivers. This volume varies seasonally and varies between about 50 gigalitres and 70 gigalitres depending on flood levels, drought and high pressure systems.

How large is the Swan Canning Catchment?

The Swan Canning Catchment accounts for 2126 square kilometres out of a total catchment (including the Avon River basin), of about 125,000 square kilometres.

What causes algal blooms?

High levels of nutrients entering the river from the catchment and cause algal blooms. Excessive nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, feed algae and make them grow. The algae that make up the blooms are important in the food chain. The Swan River Trust’s environmental management program, the Swan-Canning Cleanup Program, aims to minimise toxic and nuisance blooms and increase the health of the rivers.