The Pimpama River is a perennial river in the South East region of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

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 ...

. Its

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

lies within the Gold Coast

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

and covers an area of .

Course and features

The Pimpama River rises in the Darlington Range on the north-western slopes of Wongawallan Mountain, west of in the Gold Coast

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...

. The river flows generally north-easterly, joined by two minor

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

before emptying into Tipplers Passage where it is joined by the North Branch of the

Coomera River The Coomera River is a perennial river in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim Region local government areas and covers an area of . Course and features Rising in Lamington ...

in the

Southern Moreton Bay Islands National Park Southern Moreton Bay Islands is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 44 km southeast of Brisbane. It forms part of the Moreton Bay and Pumicestone Passage Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because it suppor ...

and south of Woogoompah Island. From here the river forms its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Broadwater, part of the southern

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

and enters the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

either south or north of

South Stradbroke Island South Stradbroke Island ( Indigenous: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''South Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, south of Brisbane and forms the northern end of Gold Coast. The island is ...

. The catchment area of the Pimpama River is bounded by the

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...

and

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rivers catchment to the north, the Coomera River catchment to the south and the Broadwater in the east. The name of the river was the source for the naming of nearby . The Pacific Motorway crosses the river between and . The

Gold Coast railway line The Gold Coast railway line is an interurban railway line operated by Queensland Rail in Queensland, Australia, connecting Brisbane with the Gold Coast. The line has 17 stations. In 2021, a journey from Central station to the terminus of ...

crosses to the east between Pimpama and Ormeau. A conservation area is located on the southern bank of the river at its junction with Moreton Bay, bordering the Southern Moreton Bay Island National Park and the Ramsar

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

site. The Pimpama River wetlands has mangroves, saltmarshs and marine flats providing protected breeding grounds for marine species including four frog species and the vulnerable false water rat (''

Xeromys myoides ''Xeromys myoides'', also known as the water mouse, marine mouse, mangrove mouse, false water rat, manngay and yirrkoo, is a species of rodent native to waterways of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy A description of the species was pu ...

''). The wetlands are an important conservation area for a recorded 184 species of native plants, 134 vertebrate fauna species including 13 species of mammals, 108 species of birds and nine species of reptiles.

History

Like most other coastal rivers in the region, the river was used to transport timber cut during the 19th century. The fertile delta area of the river centered on was home to a thriving

arrowroot Arrowroot is a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock) of several tropical plants, traditionally ''Maranta arundinacea'', but also Florida arrowroot from ''Zamia integrifolia'', and tapioca from cassava (''Manihot esculenta''), which is of ...

crop. Growing

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

has become the area's main land use. A bridge was first constructed over the Pimpama River between late 1871 and early 1872 by John Thomas Brigg. In 2015, the remains of Tiahleigh Palmer were found in the river.

References

{{Rivers of Queensland Rivers of Queensland Geography of Gold Coast, Queensland Pimpama, Queensland

Course and features

History

See also

References