Strzelecki Creek

Strzelecki
A map of the Lake Eyre Basin showing the location of Strzelecki Creek
Location of the river mouth in South Australia
Etymology	Paul Edmund de Strzelecki
Location
Country	Australia
State	South Australia
Region	Far North
Municipality	unincorporated area
Physical characteristics
Source	Cooper Creek
• location	south of Innamincka
• elevation	52 m (171 ft)
Mouth	Lake Blanche
• location	west of Montecollina
• coordinates	29°21′51″S 139°49′49″E
• elevation	1 m (3 ft 3 in)
Length	200 km (120 mi)
Basin features
River system	Lake Eyre Basin
protected areas	Strzelecki Regional Reserve
[1]

The Strzelecki Creek, part of the Lake Eyre basin, is an ephemeral watercourse located in the Australian state of South Australia.

Course and features

The Strzelecki is a distributary of Cooper Creek and branches off near the town of Innamincka and flows in a southerly direction thought the Strzelecki Desert for about 200 kilometres (120 mi) towards Lake Blanche. While being feed by the Cooper Creek, it does have its own catchment and can flow independently after ‘heavy localised storms.’ Flows on ‘exceptional’ occasions can reach Lakes Blanche, Callabonna, Frome and Gregory. Its watercourse is lined by trees, bordered by “large parallel sand ridges” and includes “a series of waterholes.”^[2][3][4]

Parts of the creek system are within the protected area known as the Strzelecki Regional Reserve.^{[citation needed]} The creek system is also within the boundaries of the non-statutory Strzelecki Desert Lakes Important Bird Area .^[5] The former pastoral lease property Tinga Tingana straddled the creek which also passes through Blanchewater Station.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

It was named by the British explorer, Charles Sturt on 18 August 1845 after Paul Edmund de Strzelecki, the Polish scientist and explorer.^[2][4] Explorer Augustus Charles Gregory and his party found that following Strzelecki Creek proved to be the best way to travel through the interior from the Pacific to the Southern Ocean.^[6]

See also

• List of rivers of Australia § South Australia

References

1. "Map of Strzelecki Creek, SA". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
2. "Search result for " Strzelecki Creek (Stream) (Record no. SA0049990) with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities" and "Place names (gazetteer)"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
3. Morton, S. R; Barker, R. D. (Robin Dale), 1940-; Doherty, M. D; CSIRO. Division of Wildlife and Ecology; Australia. World Heritage Unit (1995), Natural heritage values of the Lake Eyre Basin in South Australia : world heritage assessment (PDF), CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, p. 42, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2018, retrieved 26 September 2016
4. South Australia. Department for Environment and Heritage (2002), A review of Lake Frome and Strzelecki Regional Reserves, 1991-2001 (PDF), Dept. for Environment and Heritage, pp. 11 and 15, ISBN 978-0-7590-1038-3
5. "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Strzelecki Desert Lakes". BirdLife International. 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
6. "Strzelecki Creek National Heritage Place, Strzelecki Tk, Innamincka, SA, Australia". Australian Heritage Database. 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.