Murchison (Western Australia)

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For the shire, see Shire of Murchison.
Not to be confused with Davenport Murchison Ranges bioregion.

Murchison
IBRA 6.1 Murchison.png
The IBRA regions, with Murchison in red
LocationWestern Australia, Australia
Area281,205.54 km2 (108,574.07 sq mi)

The Murchison is an interim Australian bioregion located within the Mid West of Western Australia. The bioregion is loosely related to the catchment area of the Murchison River and comprises 281,200 square kilometres (108,600 sq mi). Traditionally the region is known as The Murchison.[1]

Development[]

The Murchison is one of the main pastoral areas in Western Australia, dominated by large pastoral leases on Crown land operated as sheep and cattle stations. Mining (gold, iron and nickel) is the major contributor to the region’s economy. There are extensive mining areas, with a large number of abandoned historical mining towns and settlements.[1]

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope is located nearby, and was officially opened in October 2012.[2]

Political boundaries[]

Local government areas within the bioregion include the Shire of Yalgoo, the Shire of Mount Magnet, the Shire of Murchison, the Shire of Cue, the Shire of Sandstone, the Shire of Meekatharra, the Shire of Wiluna and the Shire of Leonora.[1]

Population is scattered. The largest population centres are Meekatharra, Mount Magnet and Leonora, with smaller mining and pastoral towns at Yalgoo, Sandstone, Cue, Wiluna and Leinster.

Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia[]

Murchison is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region in Western Australia[3][4] and part of the Western Australian mulga shrublands ecoregion.[5]

See also[]

  • Mid West region of Western Australia

References[]

  1. ^ a b c :Bastin, : Gary (2008). Rangelands 2008 — Taking the Pulse: Focus Bioregions - Murchison bioregion (WA) (pdf). Canberra, ACT: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia. pp. 159–168. ISBN 978 0 642 37146 1.
  2. ^ "Outback Observatory open for business", ABC News, retrieved 7 October 2012 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-05/outback-observatory-open-for-business/4298094
  3. ^ Environment Australia. "Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) and Development of Version 5.1 - Summary Report". Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Australian Government. Archived from the original on 5 September 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2007. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ IBRA Version 6.1 data
  5. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Western Australian Mulga shrublands". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010.

Further reading[]

  • Green, Neville, 1997 Aboriginal names of the Murchison District c. 1848-1890 (data processing by Susan Moon). Perth, W.A.
  • E.C. Grunsky ... [et al.] Report on laterite geochemistry in the CSIRO-AGE database for the southern Murchison region : Yalgoo, Kirkalocka, Perenjori, Ninghan sheets Wembley, W.A. : CRC LEME, 1998 CSIRO Division of Exploration Geoscience report ; 2R (CSIRO. Division of Exploration Geoscience) ; 2R. ISBN 0-642-28238-2
  • Lefroy, Charles Bayden ...'talks about Murchison station life in the 1930s.' Early Days, Vol. 10, Part 5 (1993), p. 503-512.
  • Thackway, R and I D Cresswell (1995) An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia : a framework for setting priorities in the National Reserves System Cooperative Program Version 4.0 Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Reserve Systems Unit, 1995. ISBN 0-642-21371-2

External links[]

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