The South Australian gulf drainage division is the area surrounding the

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

and

Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and ...

and a sliver of country to the immediate north. It includes 75,000 square kilometres of mostly moderately flat territory, broken only by the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

which reach 932 metres at their highest point. It is bounded by the Murray-Darling Basin to the east, the

Lake Eyre Basin The Lake Eyre basin ( ) is a drainage basin that covers just under one-sixth of all Australia. It is the largest endorheic basin in Australia and amongst the largest in the world, covering about , including much of inland Queensland, large porti ...

to the north, and the

Western Plateau The Western Plateau is Australia's largest drainage division and is composed predominantly of the remains of the ancient rock shield of Gondwana. It covers two thirds of the continent; of arid land, including large parts of Western Australia, ...

to the west. While waters falling to the north and west flow inland and dissipate into the sands and ephemeral

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

s of the central Australian deserts, waters falling on the South Australian gulf drainage division flow south to the sea. Rainfall over the area varies between 200 and 750 mm (8 to 30 inches) per year, tends to be concentrated on the highest and most southerly districts, and primarily occurs in winter. There are no permanent fresh water lakes in the region and the rivers are short. The best-known of them is the

River Torrens The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...

, which flows through the capital of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

References

External links

Australian Water Resources Assessment 2012 - South Australian Gulf
Landforms of South Australia Drainage basins of Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

See also

References

External links