8622-13 Snowy River Flood Plain

8622 7-14 (part 8522) - Snowy River Estuary and Floodplain

This information has been developed from the publications:

Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in Central Gippsland (1981) by Neville Rosengren, M.S McRae-Williams and S.M Kraemers.
Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Gippsland Lakes Catchment (1984) by Neville Rosengren.
Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in East Gippsland, Victoria (1981) by Neville Rosengren, M.S McRae-Williams

Geological heritage sites, including sites of geomorphological interest and volcanic heritage sites, are under regular revision by the Geological Society of Australia, especially in the assessment of significance and values. Reference should be made to the most recent reports. See the Earth Science Heritage section of the Geological Society of Australia website for details of geological heritage reports, and a bibliography.

Location:	355200. East of Snowy River, 14 kilometres south-east of Orbost.	Flood crevasse spays (A) on Snowy River floodplain.
Abstract:	Crevasse splays, backswamp flood basins.
Access:	Orbost – Marlo Road.
Ownership:	Mainly private land. Crown Land on road reserve.
Geology/Geomorphology:	The floodplain of the Snowy River includes that area adjacent to the channel which is periodically inundated by overbank flow. While generally of low relief, detailed survey of this plain indicates a variety of distinctive landforms and sediment accumulation which illustrate the process of floodplain construction. The section of the Snowy floodplain described here represents former estuary of the river which had been rapidly infilled since the initial submergence of the valley during the Holocene marine transgression. The surface features of the plain and therefore of quite recent origin and are continually modified as lateral shifting of the channel takes place and as successive floods distribute and deposit new sediments. A single large abandoned meander loop occurs near the confluence of the Brodribb River. The Snowy River is bordered on the east by low, broad levee bank which is intersected at intervals by transverse depressions or crevasse through which water first spills as the river overtops the bank during floods. The water spreads across the flood plain from the crevasse depositing sediment and producing a lobate sandsplay which may be extended and sub-divided into narrow distributary channels. In the area illustrated several elongated distributary ‘delta-form’ sandsplay deposits are evident. The minor relief is most apparent during and shortly after flooding when water occupies the lower lying basins and depressions on the floodplain.
Significance:	State. The flood crevasse features are possibly the best developed of any floodplain in Victoria.
Management:	Extensive drainage and landfill activities on the floodplain will obscure these sensitive relief features.

Sites 8622 7 to 16

Page top