geographic characteristics of sub regions in the mdb
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Geographic Characteristics of sub regions in the MDB. Sub Regions in the MDB. Key Skills and knowledge. Definition of a region Identification and classification of selected regions. The upper Darling. Majority of Australia's Cotton Industry - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Geographic Characteristics of sub regions in the MDB
Sub Regions in the MDB
Key Skills and knowledge
•Definition of a region
• Identification and classification of selected regions
The upper Darling• Majority of Australia's Cotton Industry
• 91% located along tributaries of the upper darling
Balonne River
Upper Darling
The Lower Darling
• Arid
• 6 million Hectares
• Native Vegetation (Mallee, salt bush, red gum)
• Mungo National Park, Walls of china, Willandra
lakes World Heritage Area provide records of
Indigenous life
The Lower Darling cont..
Mungo National Park Wine grapes
Menindee lakes store water for irrigation and for Broken hill Pleistocene human footprints –
Willandra Lakes
Lower Darling Cont…
Produce Includes • Wheat• Cotton• Vegetables • Wool • Meat• Wine grapes• Stone fruits• Apples
The upper Murray
• The Murray begins its 2375 km journey
• three springs south of Mt Kosciusko
Upper Murray cont…
The Hume Dam
• This sub region makes up less than 2% of
the Murray Darling catchment
• But contributes 37% of the rivers total
flow• Hume and
Dartmouth Dams control flow and generate hydro electricity
The Riverine Plains
• Flat
• Sediment eroded from
the Great dividing
Range and deposited
• Cadell tilt block changed the course of the rivers and helped produce Australia's largest red gum forest (Barmah)
Riverine plains cont…
Barmah Forest
• Barmah forest occupies 60 000 hectares
• Shepparton and Cobram orchards produce
80% of Australia's canning fruit • Rice is grown in
Deniliquin and Wakool regions
The Mallee zone and the Riverland / Sunraysia region
• Murrumbidgee and
Darling rivers join the
Murray
• Semi Arid region
• Sandy soils, dunes, slat
lakes, shrubs, sparse
distribution of trees
The Mallee, Riverland, Sunraysia region cont…….
Confluence of Murrumbidgee and darling rivers
• Ancient sea deposited large amounts of
salt, present in soil and ground water
• Extensive Irrigation allows:• Grapes• Citrus fruits• Stone fruit• Flowers• Vegetables
The Murray Gorge• River has cut through
Hard limestone
• The Valley is 1.5 -2 km
wide
• 30 – 40 meters deep
• Vertical cliffs and
elongated wetlands
border
The Murray Gorge cont…
• The gorge is approximately 280 km long
• The regional water table and river
intersect
• Salty water enters the river through
aquifers exposed in the cliff face
• The river turns sharply at Morgan
The lower Murray, the lower lakes and the Coorong
• Wetlands have been
drained and reclaimed
for pasture and dairying
• At Goolwa, barrages
prevent salt water from
extending upstream
The lower Murray, the lower lakes and the Coorong cont….
• The barrages also keep water levels high
enough for irrigation
• The river enters the lower lakes and finally
the southern ocean
Mouth of the Murray and the Coorong
The Coorong
• Some water flows into the Coorong
• The Coorong is a 140 km lagoon behind
the coastal dunes