King River

	King River at a glance
	Catchment area:		402 square kilometres
	Average annual rainfall over catchment:		860 millimetres
	River length:		27 kilometres
	Annual discharge volume into Oyster Harbour:		34,126 Megalitres
	Extent of tidal influence:		seven kilometres
	Percentage cleared:		83%
	River health:		fresh

      


The King River is estuarine for seven kilometres from its mouth at the lower King Bridge to where it is joined by Mill Brook. From Mill Brook to the Upper King Bridge the river has a narrow winding channel between one to two metres wide with high sandy banks. There are granite outcrops in the river near the Upper King Bridge and about 1.5 kilometres downstream from it. It then flows through low pastoral land with fringes of sedges (Juncus kraussii) and paperbark trees (Melaleuca cuticularis). For two kilometres above the Lower King Bridge there is a wide deltaic area of salt marsh and intertidal sand flats through which a shallow, narrow channel winds. The river narrows and deepens again at the 70 metre long bridge.

Despite heavy clearing within the catchment, the water remains fresh. Most of the main channels are either habitat rivers or agricultural drains, but Mill Brook, a major tributary passing through a nature reserve, is relatively natural.

Further Information:

Albany Waterways Resource Book: Water and Rivers Commission 1999

South Coast Regional Land and Water Care Strategy: The Albany Hinterland Sub-region. Prepared by the South Coast Regional Assessment Panel and the South Coast Regional Initiative Planning Team: December 1996