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Did you know?

The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia's largest and most iconic river system, and is one of the biggest systems in the world. It covers over a million square kilometres in south-eastern Australia - an area larger than the combined size of France and Germany.

The Basin is home to over 2 million people and covers about 14% of Australia's landmass. It includes a range of diverse landscapes and complex ecosystems, including over 77,000km of rivers and more than 25,000 wetlands. These landscapes are home to at least 35 endangered species of birds, 16 endangered species of mammals and 46 known species of native fish.

The Basin is Australia's most important agricultural region, producing around one-third of the national food supply.

The waterways of the Basin have a long history of management and development, and the health of the Basin and its dependant ecosystems is integral to the future wellbeing of Australia - its people, its economy and its natural environment.

Purnong, South Australia

Purnong is a small town on the River Murray in South Australia.

The River Murray is the most important water resource in the south-east region of South Australia.
On average, about 40% of the water needed for the urban centres of South Australia, although this can be up to 90% in dry years.

The Coorong and Murray Mouth

The Murray Mouth is where the River Murray meets the sea. It is the only passageway to the ocean for all of the water that falls in the Basin. Because the journey to the sea is so long, hot, flat and windy, only 4% of the rainfall in the Basin will every find its way to the sea - the rest is diverted en-route for irrigation and agriculture, or evaporated by the sun.

Plums

Plums and other stone fruit are grown in the Riverina and southern regions of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Like all stone fruit, plums require a cold winter and sunny position to grow.

Plums often receive water from irrigation and require a reliable water supply throughout the year.
While plum yields have decreased over the last decade, they are an increasingly sought-after fruit for export overseas.

Craspedia flowers

Commonly known as billybuttons or woolyheads, Craspedia species are found across Australia and New Zealand.
There are 13 species of Craspedia in Australia and many of these grow in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Plants, including the billybutton, are important parts of the natural ecosystem and may provide food and homes for native animals, such as this well camouflaged spider.

Wombats

Wombats are an iconic Australian animal.

There are two types of wombat commonly found in the Basin - the bare-nosed and the hairy-nosed wombat.

Wombat numbers across Australia have been decreasing as a result of habitat destruction, droughts, disease, competition with other animals and other threats.

Like other animals, wombats rely on a healthy Basin ecosystem to survive.

Saw shelled turtules

The saw shelled turtle gets its name from the rough, saw-like edges of its shell.

In the Basin, they are found in freshwater aquatic ecosystems in QLD and northern NSW.

Saw shelled turtles are one of the few species that can eat the poisonous cane toad.

While diet and habitat varies between turtle species, they all play an important role in aquatic ecosystem processes across the Basin.

Blotched blue tongues

The blue tongue lizard lives in cool forests and woodlands in southern regions of the Basin and beyond to Tasmania.
Blue tongue lizards need lots of protective groundcover, such as shrubs or leaf litter, to guard themselves against potential predators.

Like all other reptiles, blue tongue lizards have 'cold' blood and needs to sunbake in order to gain energy from the sun.

Snakes

Snakes, though sometimes a little scary, play a very important role in our environment. They are needed in their ecosystems to make sure that populations of small animals - such as mice - don't get out of control. They are also an important food source for other animals such as birds of prey.

Barred galaxias

Barred galaxias are small, strikingly coloured fish native to the Murray-Darling Basin. They are an endangered species and are only found in a limited area of the Basin.

Predation by rainbow and brown trout is the major threat to barred galaxias, and populations now only live in streams where trout are absent.

The tench

Along with many other species of fish, the tench is an introduced, or alien fish - it is not a native animal in the Basin.
The tench is native to Europe and was introduced in 1876.

Alien species are one of the most significant threats against populations of native fish in the Basin as they compete for food and habitat.

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Did you know? The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia's largest and most iconic river system, and is one of the biggest systems in the world. It covers over a million square kilometres in south-eastern Australia - an area larger than the combined size of France and Germany.

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Students to complete this task and to write down the definitions of each stage in this diagram

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This video is designed to teach students about drainage basins and river systems, with reference to the Amazon Basin.

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Create a new spreadsheet and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Sheets to edit Excel files. Free from Google.