Hutt River (Western Australia)
Hutt River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
| Hutt River | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | 23 km (14 mi) north-east of Northampton |
| • elevation | 284 m (932 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Broken Anchor Bay, Indian Ocean |
| Length | 60 km (37 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,078.43 km2 (416 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 10,660 ML/a (0.338 m3/s; 11.93 cu ft/s) |
The river rises 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the North West Coastal Highway, between Northampton and Binnu. It flows in a westerly direction until reaching Broken Anchor Bay on the Indian Ocean 6 kilometres (4 mi) south-east of Port Gregory. The main tributary for the Hutt River is Kennedy Creek. Others are Yarder Gully and Swamp Gully, which are important contributors of fresh water to the river.
Under normal flow, the Hutt River runs to the north for less than 500 metres (1,600 ft) before breaking through the final dune and flowing to the sea. Under heavy flow it breaks straight through.
Hutt Lagoon, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the river mouth, is a marginal marine salina. Similar to Lake MacLeod, north of Carnarvon, Hutt Lagoon is fed by marine waters through a barrier ridge and by meteoric waters through springs. Due to the salina's below-sea-level position, seepage of seawater into the salina is continuous year round.