Avoca River
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The Avoca River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower
Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
bioregion A bioregion is a geographical area, on land or at sea, defined not by administrative boundaries, but by distinct characteristics such as plant and animal species, ecological systems, soils and landforms, Human settlement, human settlements, and ...
and Central Highlands and
Wimmera The Victorian government's Wimmera Southern Mallee subregion is part of the Grampians region in western Victoria. It includes most of what is considered the Wimmera, and part of the southern Mallee region. The subregion is based on the social ...
regions of the
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n state of Victoria. The headwaters of the Avoca River rise on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees Range and descend to flow into the
ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
Kerang Lakes.


Features and location

The Avoca River drains a substantial part of central Victoria. It rises at the foot of Mount Lonarch, near the small town of
Amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
, and flows north for joined by thirteen minor tributaries, and through the towns of , and . Two major distributaries leave the Avoca River between Charlton and Quambatook: Tyrrell Creek, flowing to Lake Tyrrell, and Lalbert Creek flowing to Lake Lalbert. Although the Avoca River basin is part of the Murray-Darling basin, the Avoca River does not empty into the Murray. Nowhere a large stream, it dwindles as it flows north, eventually terminating in the Kerang Lakes, a network of ephemeral swamps west of Kerang and about south of the Murray River. Although the Avoca River has a substantial
catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
, the fifth-largest in Victoria, most of that area is on the northern plains where rainfall averages only about per year, and where there is little runoff because the terrain is very flat. The mean annual runoff of per annum accounts for only 0.67% of Victoria's runoff. Most of the water flowing in the Avoca River originates in the small upper portion of the catchment area, where rainfall averages about per year, most of it falling in the winter and spring. Of all the Victorian rivers in the Murray-Darling basin, the Avoca River is the most variable. The average annual flow is , but recorded actual flows have varied from almost five times the average figure in very wet years, when the river can flood, to 0.5% of the average in drought years, when the flow is less than per day. In dry years, the flow can stop for many months. Although it is the only river of significance in the area, no major water storages have been constructed on it, but there are six weirs of only local significance. Little use of the river is made for
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
because, during the peak demand periods of summer and autumn, it is often not flowing. During low-flow periods, the water is usually too saline to use on crops, but can still provide drinking water for sheep and cattle. The river is crossed by the Pyrenees Highway at Avoca, and the Borung Highway and the Calder Highway at Charlton.


Etymology

As the river is relatively long, Aboriginal peoples from various cultural groups lived near the river course. In the Djadjawurrung, Wathawurrung,
Wergaia The Wergaia or Werrigia people are an Aboriginal Australian group in the Mallee (Victoria), Mallee and Wimmera regions of north-Western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, made up of a number of clans. The people were also known as the Maligundidj ( ...
, and Wembawemba languages, the river has several names, including ''Natte yaluk'' and ''Boca'', both with no clearly defined meaning; ''Bangyeno Banip'', meaning bunyip waterholes; ''Djub-djub-galg'', meaning a place where
melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
was abundant; ''Witchelliba'', with ''witji'' meaning basket grass and ''bar'' meaning river; and ''Yangeba'', with no clearly defined meaning.


See also

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References


External links

* * * {{Authority control North-Central catchment Rivers of Grampians (region) Rivers of Loddon Mallee (region) Tributaries of the Murray River Wimmera Central Highlands (Victoria)