The Bundara River (formerly known as the Bundara Mungee River and the Bundarah River), a perennial river of the North-East

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the East Gippsland and

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

regions of Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Location and features

The Bundara River rises east of Mount Hotham and Mount Loch in the Australian Alps in the Alpine National Park at an elevation of , and flows into the Big River about north of Anglers Rest. The river flows generally to the east, travelling through the national park for most of its

course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

. About north of Anglers Rest the

Omeo Highway The Omeo Highway is a 163 kilometre road in eastern Victoria, Australia, connecting north-east Victoria to Gippsland over parts of the Victorian Alps. There are no substantial settlements between Mitta Mitta and Omeo, and therefore fuel is un ...

crosses over the river, and about north of this crossing it reaches its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

into the Big River at an elevation of . The Big River forms its confluences with the

Cobungra River The Cobungra River, a perennial river of the North-East Murray catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the East Gippsland and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. Location and features The Cobungra River rises below the slopes of ...

just south of this point to form the

Mitta Mitta River Mitta Mitta River, a perennial stream, perennial river and a direct tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Victorian Alps, alpine district of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The name Mitta ...

. The river descends over its course.

Tributaries

Key tributaries of the Bundara River include High Plains Creek, Waterfall Creek, and Tea Tree Creek. The main tributaries flow off the southern slopes of Mount Jim (), Mount Bundara () and Mount Cope (), and the hills to the east of the main ridge of the Australian Alps.

River health

The Bundara River and its tributaries are generally protected within the Alpine National Park. Most of the waterways in the Mitta Mitta basin are recognised as being in good to excellent condition. Extensive forest covers much of the catchment area. Despite some land clearing and livestock damage to river banks, the

aquatic habitat Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies s ...

is generally very good. The Bundara River is noted as being particularly good for

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

fishing. The Bundara River is part of the North East Catchment Management Authority's Victorian River Health Program, aimed at achieving healthy rivers. In early 2003, large areas of forest around the Bundara River and its catchments were severely impacted by the massive Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires. These fires burnt through approximately of the area's

bushland In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure. Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving ...

for close to two months. The damage resulting from the fires impacted river health for some time after the fires.

Gallery

Omeo Hwy crossing the Bundara River near Anglers Rest, Vic, jjron, 6.06.2009.jpg,

crossing the Bundara River near Anglers Rest 2003 Bushfires aftermath, Bundara River near Anglers Rest.jpg, Devastated bushland on the Bundara River near Anglers Rest resulting from the

2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires The Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires were a series of bushfires in 2003 that burnt in the Alpine National Park and Mount Buffalo National Park in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The bushfire started with eighty-seven fires that were started ...

References

External links