Lake Kununurra is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

man-made

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

located in the

Ord River The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia. The Ord ...

valley. The lake was formed in 1963 by the construction of the Ord Diversion Dam in Kununurra, northern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, which was built to supply water to the Ord River Irrigation Area. Prior to the

diversion dam A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which ...

construction a natural permanent waterhole (or lake) held back by the Bandicoot Bar was known as "Carlton Reach", which was reputed to be the largest waterhole in the Kimberley.

Description

The lake stretches for upstream from the Diversion Dam at towards the larger

Lake Argyle Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest freshwater man-made reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is located near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra. The lake f ...

dam at . At the town of Kununurra the lake is connected to Lily Creek Lagoon. It contains

freshwater crocodile The freshwater crocodile (''Crocodylus johnstoni''), also known as the Australian freshwater crocodile, Johnstone's crocodile or the freshie, is a species of crocodile endemic to the northern regions of Australia. Unlike their much larger Austr ...

s and 21 fish species, and is widely used for

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...

and

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

by the residents of Kununurra and tourists. Because of the stable water levels in Lake Kununurra and its associated wetlands, it has well-developed fringing vegetation of

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

, rushes and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. The wetland system of the two lakes and the lagoon forms the

Lakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Site The Lakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Site comprises an extensive system of artificial freshwater reservoirs, with their associated permanent wetlands, formed by damming the Ord River in the eastern part of the Kimberley region of northern West ...

. In 2014 a

saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...

estimated to be long was spotted in the lake after bypassing dam walls. Local rangers lay baits in hopes of catching the creature.

Birds

The lake forms part of the Ord Irrigation Area

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA), so identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because of its importance for wild birds, especially

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...

es.

Engineering heritage award

The diversion dam was declared a Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering and awarded an Engineering Heritage Marker by

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

References

{{reflist

External links

Lakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Site – mapKununurra Historical Society Inc. Archive, Library, Museum & Research
(Links to Archive Images of Lake Kununurra) Ramsar sites in Australia Important Bird Areas of Western Australia Kununurra Infrastructure completed in 1963 Ord River Kununurra, Western Australia

Description

Birds

Engineering heritage award

See also

References

External links