Salinity Province 90, Navarre

Thumbnail image showing the location of the Navarre Salinity Province in Victoria The small Navarre Salinity Province forms part of the headwaters of the Wimmera River catchment and has two distinct salinity discharge sites: Greens Creek and Frenchman’s Creek. Each contributes a high salt load to the upper valley river system.

Weathered fractured rock dominates the landscape, with rocky ridges outcropping with a north-south trend corresponding to the uplifted bedding plane. These ridges form high recharge areas, which supply the local scale Groundwater Flow Systems that underlie the province. At the eastern side of the province, the ridges slope westward onto an upland alluvial plain. At Frenchman’s Creek, salinity is expressed as small ‘break-of-slope’ and drainage line discharge, coupled with deep erosional gullies. At Greens Creek, salinity is mainly confined to the low-lying drainage basin, a wetland reserve.

Some salinity mitigation work has been undertaken with trees and tall wheat grass established at both sites.

Province Attributes

Catchment Management Region:	WIMMERA
Priority Status:	High
Province Area:	45,580 ha
Recorded Soil Salinity Area ¹:	270 ha
Dominant Surface Geology Type:	Sedimentary
Influence of Geological Structure on Salinity Occurrence/s:	None
Relevant Geomorphological Mapping Units (GMUs):	2.1.2, 2.1.X
Predominant Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs):	Local/Intermediate
Relevant Irrigation Areas:	N/A

Navarre Salinity Province Map

A detailed map showing the Navarre Salinity Province

Links to further reading and material related to the Wimmera Salinity Province
For further information relating to groundwater levels and salinities in this Province please see: Visualising Victoria's Groundwater (VVG)

¹ Please Note: The ‘Recorded Soil Salinity Area’ indicated in the Salinity Province Attribute Table, comprises the total geographic area that has been mapped as having, or showing symptoms of, dryland soil salinity at some time (past or present). As dryland salinity occurrence in the Victorian landscape exhibits many different levels of severity and can change due to climate, landuse and vegetation, previously mapped areas may no longer be showing symptoms. In addition, as not all parts of the State have been mapped, or mapped in the same way, the mapping may not have captured some occurrences.

The soil salinity mapping used to calculate this ‘area’ does not cover irrigation regions. In irrigation regions, depth to watertable and watertable salinity mapping has been used to convey the threat of high watertables on soil waterlogging and/or soil salinisation and these areas are not included in this ‘area‘ calculation.

Please contact the Department, your Catchment Management Authority or your rural water provider for more information about salinity in your location.

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