Rudall River

Rudall River
(Karlamilyi)
Map
Location
CountryAustralia
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • elevation385 metres (1,263 ft)[1]
Mouth 
 • location
Lake Dora
 • elevation
241 metres (791 ft)
Length245 kilometres (152 mi)
Basin size3,391 square kilometres (1,309 sq mi)[2]

The Rudall River (Wanman: Karlamilyi) is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The entire length of the river is located within the boundaries of the Karlamilyi National Park, which straddles the Little Sandy Desert (LSD) and the Great Sandy Desert (GSD).[3]

The headwaters of the river lie in the LSD[4] below the Watrara Range near Island Hill, and it flows eastward into the GSD until it discharges into Lake Dora. The river is unique in the region as it is a major watercourse with reliable water sources and many permanent pools.

The river has a total of nine tributaries, including Watrara Creek, Rooney Creek, Poonemerlarra Creek and Dunn Creek.

The river was named by the explorer Frank Hann in 1896 after the surveyor William Frederick Rudall whom he met in the area while Hann was prospecting and Rudall was searching for men missing from the Calvert Expedition. The traditional owners of the land are the Warnman peoples, who call the river Karlamilyi.[5]

  1. ^ "Bonzle Digital Atlas – Map of Rudall River". 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  2. ^ "Counting Australia's protected rivers". 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Karlamilyi National Park". Explore Parks WA. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  4. ^ N. L. McKenzie; A. N. Start; R. D. Bullen (2002). "Foraging ecology and organisation of a desert bat fauna" (PDF). Australian Journal of Zoology. 50. CSIRO: 530. ISSN 0004-959X – via ResearchGate.
  5. ^ "Department of Environment and Conservation - Karlamilyi River National Park". 2009. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.