Irwin Inlet

Irwin Inlet is an inlet in the located on the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

It was also known as Quarram Inlet.[1][2] The inlet receives water from two main sources, Bow River of the north west and Kent River to the north east. The inlet itself discharges into the Southern Ocean via Foul Bay.

The inlet is approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Walpole and 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Denmark. The South Coast Highway is about 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of the inlet.

A sandbar across the entrance to the inlet on the ocean side, but this is often breached during the winter. The inlet bisects Peaceful Bay beach.

The inlet is a wave dominated estuary with a total area of 13 square kilometres (5 sq mi); it is estimated that 30% of the catchment is cleared.[3]

The inlet is slowly turning into swampland as a result of its high sediment loading and shallow depth. The basin supports large seagrass meadows and is used as a commercial fishery.[4]

The Bibbulmun Track crosses Irwin Inlet, and canoes are provided in sheds on either side of the track for hikers to make the crossing with. The channel is 150 metres (492 ft) wide at the point where it must be crossed.[5]

  1. ^ Saw, Bert (Herbert Thomas) (1929), First train at Quarram Siding on the Denmark to Nornalup Railway, Western Australia, retrieved 12 January 2021
  2. ^ Brearley, Anne; Ernest Hodgkin Trust for Estuary Education and Research; National Trust of Australia (W.A.); University of Western Australia Press (2005), Ernest Hodgkin's Swanland : estuaries and coastal lagoons of South-western Australia, University of Western Australia Press for the Ernest Hodgkin Trust for Estuary Education and Research and National Trust of Australia (WA), ISBN 978-1-920694-38-8
  3. ^ "Estuary Assessment framework for non-pristine estuaries - Estuary 645 (Irwin Inlet)". 2009. Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  4. ^ "South Coast Rivercare - Irwin Inlet". 2004. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  5. ^ "Peaceful Bay - Bibbulmun Track Foundation". 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.