The Collie River is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in the
South West region of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.
The Collie River was named by
Lieutenant Governor Stirling after
Alexander Collie
Dr Alexander Collie (2 June 1793 – 8 November 1835) was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who journeyed to Western Australia in 1829, where he was an explorer and Colonial Surgeon.
Early life
Collie was born in Insch in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on ...
who, along with Lieutenant William Preston, in November 1829 was the first European to explore the river.
The Collie River Catchment is located in the south-west of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, it covers over and includes the Wellington Reservoir. For Western Australia's growing
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
the reservoir is considered a valuable resource, but the
water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
is too salty for
drinking
Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among ...
.
The Waters and Rivers Commission has a target of reducing the salinity of the river water to 500 mg/L by 2015 as a part of the State Salinity Strategy.
Tributaries
There are many tributaries of the Collie River including Collie River East, Collie River South, Bingham River,
Brunswick River, Gervase River, Hamilton River, Harris River, Ironstone Gully, Silver Wattle Gully, Worsley River, Riches Gully and Mill Brook.
References
External links
Collie River visitors' information
Rivers of the South West region
Collie, Western Australia
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