| Balla Balla River | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | nearWhim Creek |
| • elevation | 68 metres (223 ft)[1] |
| Mouth | |
• location | Indian Ocean |
• elevation | sea level |
| Length | 30 km (19 mi) |
Balla Balla River is ariver in thePilbara region ofWestern Australia.
The river rises on the southern side of Yirrakulanna Hills and flows in a north-easterly direction crossing theNorth West Coastal Highway near the Stranger mine atWhim Creek then finally discharging into Balla Balla harbour, nearDepuch Island in theIndian Ocean.
The river is ephemeral and can be completely dry in the summer months, but during periodic flood events the water level can rise over 5.5 metres (18 ft).[2] Theriparian vegetation is dominated byriver red gums.
The river has threetributaries, Whim Creek, Louden Creek and Caporn Creek.
The river name was recorded in 1878 byJohn Forrest, who wassurveying the area at the time. The name is believed to beAboriginal in origin and is thought to come from the Kanyarra wordParla, which means mud.[3]
Thetraditional owners of the area are theNgarluma people, who inhabited the region around the Balla Balla, theMaitland and theSherlock Rivers.[4]
The area to the west of the river contains potentially economic deposits ofmagnetite.
The town ofBalla Balla, gazetted in 1898, was once located near the river mouth. It acted as aport for the Whim Creek copper mine.[5]
In 2019, the owners of theWhim Creek Copper Mine were handed an Environmental Protection Notice by theDepartment of Water and Environmental Regulation because of seepage of heavy metals from the mine into the Balla Balla River, considered a serious pollution risk. While incare and maintenance and with no active mining, Black Rock Minerals re-processed existing stockpiles through a small process plant and heap leach. Copper levels of 3.5 milligrams per litre were recorded in the local drinking water, well above the permitted level of 0.002 milligrams per litre. The small scale re-processing at Whim Creek eventually ceased in October 2019.[6][7]
Rivers 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 | |
20°41′53″S117°47′57″E / 20.69806°S 117.79917°E /-20.69806; 117.79917
