| Ginninderra Creek Ginninderry Creek, Ginninginninderry Creek, Gingininderra Creek | |
|---|---|
 Ginninderra Creek, impounded atLake Ginninderra, 2011 | |
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| Etymology | Aboriginal: word meaning "sparkling" or "throwing little rays of light"[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State/Territory | |
| IBRA | South Eastern Highlands |
| District | Capital Country |
| Town centres | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Spring Range |
| • location | north-east ofHall,ACT |
| • elevation | 599 m (1,965 ft) |
| Mouth | confluence withMurrumbidgee River |
• location | Ginninderra Gorge,Yass Valley,NSW |
• elevation | 430 m (1,410 ft) |
| Length | 23 km (14 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Murrumbidgee River,Murray–Darling basin |
| Reservoirs | Gungahlin Pond,Lake Ginninderra |
| [2] | |
Ginninderra Creek, apartly perennial stream of theMurrumbidgee catchment within theMurray–Darling basin, is located in theCapital Country region spanning both theAustralian Capital Territory andNew South Wales,Australia.
Ginninderra is derived from theAboriginal word, meaning "sparkling" or "throwing little rays of light".[1] The traditional custodians of the land surrounding Ginninderra Creek are theAboriginal people of theNgunnawal tribe.
Ginninderra Creek rises on the northern border between the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW), sourced from theSpring Range, located north-east ofHall. The creek flows generally south-west across theGinninderra Plain, through theGungahlin andBelconnen regions inCanberra, and then heads west crossing the western border between the ACT and flowing into NSW, towards itsconfluence with theMurrumbidgee River. The creek descends 168 metres (551 ft) over its 23 kilometres (14 mi)course.[2]
Ginninderra Creek is impounded by Gungahlin Pond andLake Ginninderra,[2] a man-made lake that was constructed in 1974 to act as asedimentation pond.[citation needed] The creek flows over the Ginninderra Falls, descending 41 metres (135 ft), and through Ginninderra Gorge, to its confluence with the Murrumbidgee River.
The catchment of Ginninderra Creek covers approximately 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres).[citation needed]
The Ginninderra Creek catchment carries approximately a quarter of Canberra'surban runoff, and there is considerable risk of runoff from urban areas harmingaquatic ecosystems in the Murrumbidgee River system.[citation needed]
Ginninderra Falls was a popular scenic tourist destination,[3] opened initially as a private tourist park from the late 1990s.[4]John Gale argued that the Ginninderra Falls were so pretty that Canberra should be chosen as thecapital city of Australia, rather than the proposal to chooseDalgety as the location for the national capital.[5] From mid-2011 onwards, advocacy began for the establishment of anational park containing the Ginninderra Falls, comprising 900 hectares (2,200 acres) and covering both ACT and NSW, inclusive of the existing 200 hectares (490 acres) Woodstock Nature Reserve in the ACT.[4][6]
Rivers, other watercourses, reservoirs, river islands and waterfalls of theAustralian Capital Territory | |
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| Rivers and creeks | |
| Reservoirs | |
| River islands | |
| Waterfalls | |
