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 Western Australia. The reservoirs include Lake Argyle and Lake Kununurra. There are numerous endemic plants and a rich fauna. The 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi) site was designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on 7 June 1990, making it Ramsar Site 478.[1]
The diversion dam on the Ord River was completed in 1963 as the first stage of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. It flooded the Ord valley upstream towards the site of the Argyle Dam, creating Lake Kununurra and subsidiary wetlands such as Lily Creek Lagoon and the Packsaddle Swamps. The Argyle Dam was completed in 1972 as the second stage of the scheme, creating Lake Argyle. The town of Kununurra was built at the site of the diversion dam, adjoining Lake Kununurra and Lily Creek Lagoon. Human use of the area includes irrigatedtropical agriculture, diamond mining and exploration, and with tourism becoming increasingly important.[1]
Flora and faunaedit
Water levels in Lake Argyle fluctuate annually by about 3 metres (9.8 ft) but those in Lake Kununurra and its associated wetlands are kept constant except for short periods when levels are lowered to control weed growth. There are dead trees throughout the wetland system which were killed by permanent flooding following dam construction. The lakes are deep and there are large areas of open water without aquatic plants. The large fluctuation in water levels in Lake Argyle has prevented vegetation establishment along most of the shoreline. However, because water levels are stable in Lake Kununurra and its associated wetlands, they have developed densely vegetated margins, with aquatic plants fringed by bulrushes, grassland and savannawoodland. Tree species found on the wetland margins include broad-leaved paperbark, Eucalyptus microtheca, river red gum, Nauclea orientalis, Sesbania formosa and Lophostemon grandiflorus.[3]
^ abcd. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. 4 January 2000. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
^"Lakes Argyle and Kununurra". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^ ab(PDF). Wetlands International. 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
External linksedit
April 11, 2024
lakes, argyle, kununurra, ramsar, site, comprises, extensive, system, artificial, freshwater, reservoirs, with, their, associated, permanent, wetlands, formed, damming, river, eastern, part, kimberley, region, northern, western, australia, reservoirs, include,. 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 Western Australia The reservoirs include Lake Argyle and Lake Kununurra There are numerous endemic plants and a rich fauna The 1 500 km2 580 sq mi site was designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on 7 June 1990 making it Ramsar Site 478 1 Lakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Site Western AustraliaView of Lake Argyle from space looking south east with the Ord River valley and Lake Kununurra at lower leftLakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar SiteLocation in Western AustraliaCoordinates16 19 S 128 44 E 16 317 S 128 733 E 16 317 128 733Established7 June 1990 1 Area1 500 km2 579 2 sq mi 1 FootnotesRamsar WetlandOfficial nameLakes Argyle and KununurraDesignated7 June 1990Reference no 478 2 Contents 1 Description 1 1 Flora and fauna 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksDescription edit nbsp Radjah shelduck nbsp Rakali or water rat nbsp Freshwater crocodileMain articles Lake Argyle and Lake Kununurra The diversion dam on the Ord River was completed in 1963 as the first stage of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme It flooded the Ord valley upstream towards the site of the Argyle Dam creating Lake Kununurra and subsidiary wetlands such as Lily Creek Lagoon and the Packsaddle Swamps The Argyle Dam was completed in 1972 as the second stage of the scheme creating Lake Argyle The town of Kununurra was built at the site of the diversion dam adjoining Lake Kununurra and Lily Creek Lagoon Human use of the area includes irrigated tropical agriculture diamond mining and exploration and with tourism becoming increasingly important 1 Flora and fauna edit Water levels in Lake Argyle fluctuate annually by about 3 metres 9 8 ft but those in Lake Kununurra and its associated wetlands are kept constant except for short periods when levels are lowered to control weed growth There are dead trees throughout the wetland system which were killed by permanent flooding following dam construction The lakes are deep and there are large areas of open water without aquatic plants The large fluctuation in water levels in Lake Argyle has prevented vegetation establishment along most of the shoreline However because water levels are stable in Lake Kununurra and its associated wetlands they have developed densely vegetated margins with aquatic plants fringed by bulrushes grassland and savanna woodland Tree species found on the wetland margins include broad leaved paperbark Eucalyptus microtheca river red gum Nauclea orientalis Sesbania formosa and Lophostemon grandiflorus 3 The lakes form an important dry season refuge for waterbirds with regular numbers of over 20 000 and sometimes of up to 200 000 individuals Lake Argyle contains some of the largest aggregations of waterbirds in northern Australia Abundant species include glossy ibis with up to 6 000 counted magpie goose 10 500 wandering whistling duck 11 000 plumed whistling duck 4 300 radjah shelduck 900 Pacific black duck 16 000 grey teal 17 200 pink eared duck 1 800 hardhead 51 400 green pygmy goose 1 500 and Eurasian coot 50 000 The two lakes are a stronghold of the comb crested jacana Over 200 terrestrial and aquatic bird species have been recorded in the area which also supports several kinds of microbats the little red and black flying foxes rakali and large numbers of freshwater crocodiles 3 See also edit nbsp Western Australia portal nbsp Environment portal List of reservoirs and dams in Western AustraliaReferences edit a b c d The Annotated Ramsar List Australia The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands 4 January 2000 Archived from the original on 19 September 2011 Retrieved 13 May 2010 Lakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Sites Information Service Retrieved 25 April 2018 a b Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands Lakes Argyle and Kununurra PDF Wetlands International 1998 Archived from the original PDF on 22 June 2011 Retrieved 13 May 2010 External links editLakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Site map Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Site amp oldid 1084545255, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
