The South Para River is a river located in 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 ...

northeast of

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 ...

in the Australian state 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 ...

. The river's name is based directly on the

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

word ''pari'' which means river. The "south" descriptor distinguishes it from the

North Para River The North Para River is a river located in the Barossa Valley of the Australian state of South Australia. The river's name is based directly on the Kaurna word ''pari'' which means river. The "north" descriptor distinguishes it from the South ...

with which it merges.

Course and features

The South Para River rises in the

near Mount Crawford and

Kersbrook Kersbrook (formerly Maidstone) is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Kersbrook had a population of 367. History The first settlers established farms in t ...

and flows

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

through the Mount Lofty Ranges, passing through the Warren Reservoir and the

South Para Reservoir South Para Reservoir is the second largest reservoir in South Australia, behind Mount Bold Reservoir, and the principal reservoir of the South Para River system. The reservoir's large capacity of around 45,330 megalitres and its location in the ...

, before reaching 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 ...

with the

Gawler Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

to form the Gawler River. The South Para River descends over its course. The South Para River catchment is one of the key watersheds in the northern Mount Lofty Ranges. It plays an important role in the functioning of South Australia, providing much of the water used by

's domestic supply in the Northern Adelaide area. The rainfall in the South Para River catchment varies from per annum in the north-east of the catchment to per annum near Williamstown. Its waters are also used for

livestock production Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of a ...

, cereal cropping and recreation.

References

South Para River The South Para River is a river located in the Mount Lofty Ranges northeast of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia. The river's name is based directly on the Kaurna word ''pari'' which means river. The "south" descriptor disti ...

Adelaide Hills {{SouthAustralia-river-stub

Course and features

See also

References