Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of 5.1 metres (17 ft), the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Secondary tributaries include the smaller Lane Cove and Duck rivers.
| Parramatta River | |
|---|---|
Aerial view across the mouth of the Parramatta River as it reaches in Port Jackson, looking east towards downtown Sydney | |
NASA satellite view of Greater Metropolitan Sydney, with the location of the mouth of the Parramatta River, as it flows into Port Jackson, as marked | |
| Etymology | Burramattagal, meaning 'the head of the river' or 'the place where the eels sit down' |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGAs | Parramatta, Ryde, Canada Bay, Hunter's Hill, Inner West |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Toongabbie Creek |
| • location | Old Toongabbie |
| • coordinates | 33°47′56″S 150°59′47″E |
| 2nd source | Darling Mills Creek |
| • location | North Parramatta |
| Mouth | Port Jackson |
• location | Greenwich and Birchgrove |
• coordinates | 33°50′41″S 151°10′55″E |
| Length | 13.7 km (8.5 mi) |
| Basin size | 252.4 km2 (97.5 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Vineyard Creek, Ponds Subiaco Creek, Archer Creek, Smalls Creek, Charity Creek, Tarban Creek, Lane Cove River |
| • right | Duck River, Haslams Creek, Powells Creek, Iron Cove Creek, Hawthorne Canal |
Formed by the confluence of Toongabbie Creek and Darling Mills Creek at North Parramatta, the river flows in an easterly direction to a line between Yurulbin in Birchgrove and Manns Point in Greenwich. Here it flows into Port Jackson, about 21 kilometres (13 mi) from the Tasman Sea. The total catchment area of the river is approximately 252.4 square kilometres (97.5 sq mi) and is tidal to Charles Street Weir in Parramatta, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Sydney Heads.
The land adjacent to the Parramatta River was occupied for many thousands of years by Aboriginal peoples of the Wallumettagal nations and the Wangal, Toongagal (or Tugagal), Burramattagal, and Wategora clans of the Darug people. They used the river as an important source of food and a place for trade. The river was formed 15 to 29 million years ago as its waters began to cut a valley into sandstone and shale.