The Goodga River is a river in the
Great Southern 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 river is located within the boundaries of
Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve
Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is a protected area managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife east of Albany, Western Australia. The area is accessible by 2WD vehicles. The bay itself, including two small secluded beaches, faces due east ...
about east of
Albany.
The river rises to the north of Reservoir Hill and flows in a southerly direction until it discharges into Moates Lake. This lake drains into Gardner Lake and eventually into
Two Peoples Bay
Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is a protected area managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife east of Albany, Western Australia. The area is accessible by 2WD vehicles. The bay itself, including two small secluded beaches, faces due east a ...
.
The average rainfall in the catchment area is , with most falling in the winter months. The catchment mostly consists of
Albany blackbutt (''Eucalyptus staeri'') and
sheoak (''Allocasuarina fraseriana'') forest. Approximately one third of the catchment has been cleared for agriculture.
The name was first recorded in 1913 by a surveyor and is thought to be of
Aboriginal origin.
A weir was built along the river in 1964 to measure stream flow; a
fishway
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mov ...
was built in 2000 to allow fish to
migrate
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
upstream of the weir.
[
The river is home to the endangered fish, the trout minnow ('' Galaxias truttaceus''), which only occurs between the Goodga and the ]Angove River
The Angove River or Angove Creek is a river located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia; most of the river is found within Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve.
The stream was seen in 1898 by surveyor William Angove, and was named afte ...
. In 2003, the first vertical slot fishway in Western Australia was installed in the river.
References
Rivers of the Great Southern region
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