The Stanley River is a

perennial river A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abs ...

located in the

South East 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 se ...

region of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

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 ...

. A major

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

, the Stanley River valley extends roughly westwards from the area south of

Maleny Maleny (pronounced ''mah-lay-knee'') is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , the locality of Maleny had a population of 3,959 people. Maleny was a timber town ...

, through

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

Kilcoy Kilcoy is a rural town and locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kilcoy had a population of 1,898 people. Geography The township is on the D'Aguilar Highway, north west of the state capital, Brisbane, ...

before veering southwards.

Course and features

Formed by runoff from the Jimna,

Conondale Conondale is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Conondale had a population of 858 people. Geography The town is in the Sunshine Coast hinterland area. The town is located on the banks of the u ...

, Bellthorpe and D'Aguilar ranges, the river rises west of in the hinterland surrounding the Sunshine Coast and flows generally southwest, joined by eighteen minor tributaries before being impounded by the

Somerset Dam The Somerset Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with a gated spillway across the Stanley River in Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset Dam in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland. The main purpose of the dam is ...

built upstream from 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 Brisbane River. The dam was the principal water supply for

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

for some fifty years until the construction of the Wivenhoe Dam was completed, forming Lake Wivenhoe. The Stanley River tributaries include Ewen, Crohamhurst, London, Running, Blackrock, One Mile, Monkeybong, Delaney’s, Neurem, Stony, Marysmokes, Scrubby, Sandy, Kilcoy, Sheepstation, Oaky, Byron and Reedy Creeks. The river courses through one of the heaviest rainfall areas in Australia. The average annual rainfall in the area is . Riparian vegetation around the Lake Somerset area have been almost completely cleared for

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

. In the upper reaches bushland remains mostly intact although

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

s have been fragmented and fish stocks reduced. The

Gastric-brooding frog The gastric-brooding frogs or platypus frogs (''Rheobatrachus'') is a genus of extinct ground-dwelling frogs native to Queensland in eastern Australia. The genus consisted of only two species, both of which became extinct in the mid-1980s. The g ...

is an extinct frog that was discovered in only three catchments, the Mary River,

Mooloolah Mooloolah Valley is a rural locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mooloolah Valley had a population of 3,321 people. Mooloolah is a town () within the locality. Geography Mooloolah Valley is in the Sunshine ...

and Stanley Rivers. The Endangered

Giant Barred Frog The giant barred frog (''Mixophyes iteratus'') is a species of barred frog found in Australia. It occurs from south-eastern Queensland to just south of the Newcastle region in New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wale ...

''Mixophyes iteratu'' has also been recorded on the Stanley River.

History

Before either dam was built the Stanley and Brisbane Rivers were both prone to flooding. Despite warnings instigated by Henry Somerset who saw

flash flooding A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

in the upper reaches of the Stanley River valley, the 1893 Black February floods caused severe flooding downstream in Brisbane and other towns such as Fernvale. The 1893 floods occurred after heavy rains near Peachester. The river once marked the north-west boundary of the defunct County of Stanley.

References

External links

* * {{Rivers of Queensland Tributaries of the Brisbane River South East Queensland

Course and features

History

See also

References

External links