| Murchison Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
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 Theinterim Australian bioregions, with Murchison in red | |||||||||||||||
| Area | 281,205.54 km2 (108,574.1 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
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TheMurchison is a loosely defined area ofWestern Australia located within the interior of theMid West region. It was the subject ofa major gold rush in the 1890s and remains a significant mining district. The Murchison is also included as aninterim Australian bioregion.[1] The bioregion is loosely related to the catchment area of theMurchison River and has an area of 281,205 square kilometres (108,574 sq mi).[2]
The landscape is characterised by low hills and mesas, separated bycolluvium flats and alluvial plains.[3] The western portion of the bioregion is drained by the upperMurchison andWooramel rivers, which drain westwards towards the coast.[4]
Together withGascoyne bioregion, it constitutes theWestern Australian mulga shrublands ecoregion.[5]
Population is scattered; the largest population centres areMeekatharra,Mount Magnet, andLeonora, with smaller mining and pastoral towns atYalgoo,Sandstone,Cue,Wiluna, andLeinster.
The Murchison bioregion has two subregions:
Local government areas within the bioregion include theShire of Yalgoo, theShire of Mount Magnet, theShire of Murchison, theShire of Cue, theShire of Sandstone, theShire of Meekatharra, theShire of Wiluna and theShire of Leonora.[3]
The climate is arid, with rainfall predominantly in the winter months.[3]
The predominant plant community is low mulga woodlands and shrublands, characterized bymulga (Acacia aneura), with an understory of herbaceous ephemeral plants and bunchgrasses. Other plant communities include saltbush (Atriplex spp.) shrubland on calcareous soils, low samphire (Tecticornia spp.) shrubland on saline alluvium, and hummock grassland on red sandplains.[3][4]
The Murchison is one of the main pastoral areas in Western Australia, dominated by largepastoral leases onCrown land operated assheep andcattle stations. Mining (gold, iron and nickel) is the major contributor to the region's economy. There are extensive mining areas, with a large number ofabandoned historical mining towns and settlements.[3]
TheAustralian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope is located nearby, and was officially opened in October 2012.[6]
Purchase of pastoral leases by the Western Australian Government increased the area set aside for conservation purposes from about 0.5% of the bioregion in 1998 to 6.7% in 2004.[3] Protected areas include:[7]
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