Beaufort River

Beaufort River
Map
Location
CountryAustralia
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationwest of Woodanilling
 • elevation262 metres (860 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Arthur River
 • elevation
228 metres (748 ft)[2]
Length80 km (50 mi)[1]
Basin size1,565 km2 (604 sq mi)[3]
Discharge 
 • average23,277 ML/a (26.048 cu ft/s)

The Beaufort River is a river in the South West region of Western Australia.

The river was named in 1835 by John Septimus Roe, Surveyor General of Western Australia, after a friend Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort who was Hydrographer of the Navy from 1829 to 1855.[4]

The river has its headwaters west of Woodanilling near Melbourne Vale and flows in a westerly direction until it flows into the Arthur River near Duranillin. The Arthur River is a tributary of the Blackwood River.

The only tributary of the river is the 7.5-kilometre (4.7 mi) Beaufort River East that joins the main river just east of where it crosses Albany Highway.

The river's catchment falls within the Blackwood catchment's Beaufort zone as part of the Beaufort system. The system is composed of broad valley floors with a grey sandy duplex and was previously a wandoo sheoak[5] woodland but has now mostly been cleared for agriculture.

  1. ^ "History of river names – B". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Bonzle Digital Atlas - Map of Beaufort River, WA". 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  3. ^ "Department of Water - Water Resources Data - Streamflow Sites - Beaufort River - Manywaters". 2008. Archived from the original on 23 August 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  4. ^ Shire of Woodanilling (8 February 2015). "Melbourne Vale". State Heritage Register. Perth WA: State Heritage Office. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Blackwood catchment, Beaufort zone catchment appraisal" (PDF). 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2010.