| Canning River Nyungar:Djarlgarra | |
|---|---|
 Canning River from southern shore looking north towards Mount Henry overlooking Aquinas Bay | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Western Australia |
| City | Perth |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Wandering[1] |
| Mouth | Swan River |
• location | Melville Water |
• coordinates | 32°00′11″S115°51′02″E / 32.0031568°S 115.8506084°E /-32.0031568; 115.8506084 |
| Length | 110 km (68 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Bull Creek,Bannister Creek,Lambertia Creek,Southern River,Churchmans Brook |
| • right | Yule Brook,Bickley Brook,Ellis Brook,Stoney Brook,Stinton Creek |
TheCanning River (Nyungar:Djarlgarra[2][3] orNyungar:Dyarlgarro[4]) is a majortributary of theSwan River in theSouth West Land Division ofWestern Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species.
With headwaters on theDarling Scarp, the Canning meanders through suburbs ofPerth on theSwan Coastal Plain, includingCannington,Thornlie,Riverton,Shelley,Rossmoyne andMount Pleasant, before joining the Swan atMelville Water just downstream of theCanning Bridge.[5]
The first European contact was in 1801[6] when a French exploring party spotted the mouth. The crew subsequently named the mouth Entrée Moreau[6] after Charles Moreau, amidshipman with the party.
The Canning River received its contemporary name in 1827 whenCaptain James Stirling aboardHMS Success following an examination of the region in March 1827 named the river afterGeorge Canning,[6] an eminent British statesman who was Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time and whose government facilitated the funds for the expedition.
In November 1829, just five months after the founding of theSwan River Colony, an exploring party led by now Governor James Stirling chose a site for a new town namedKelmscott[7] on the banks of the Canning River.
Convicts partly constructed and maintained the Canning River Convict Fence.[8][9][10][11][12] This structure is still a notable landmark to this day. It was built primarily for the use of barges carrying timber from Mason's Timber Mill in the Darling Ranges.
Algal blooms occur naturally in the Canning River system; they are caused by a buildup of nutrients in the river. Human activities including farming, residential gardens and parklands are the major causes of increases in levels; the blooms are potentially toxic to both mammal and marine life. TheSwan River Trust monitors the levels of nutrients and growth of the algae, issuing warnings and closing sections of the river to all activities. The Trust also operates cleanup programs to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the river, as well phosphorus removal and oxygenation in areas were blooms have been identified.[13]
The Trust is encouraged by the appearance ofAzolla carpets on sections of the Canning River as this fern is known to reduce the amount of sunlight available to the algae as well as absorbing large amounts of phosphorus and other nutrients from the water. However, it is possible thatAzolla carpets can cause deoxygenation and emit a strong sulphur smell.[14]
32°00′S115°51′E / 32.000°S 115.850°E /-32.000; 115.850
Media from CommonsRivers ofWestern Australia | |
|---|---|
| Rivers of theGascoyne region | |
| Rivers of theGoldfields–Esperance region | |
| Rivers of theGreat Southern region | |
| Rivers of theKimberley region |
|
| Rivers of theMid West region | |
| Rivers of thePeel andPerth regions | |
| Rivers of thePilbara region | |
| Rivers of theSouth West region | |
| Rivers of theWheatbelt region | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
