Stokes Inlet

Stokes Inlet is an

Stokes Inlet was named in 1848 by John Septimus Roe, the Surveyor General of Western Australia, while leading a five-man exploration expedition along the coast, commemorating John Lort Stokes' work on HMS Beagle, surveying the Western Australian coast.^[1][2]

Geography

The inlet is managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation with a catchment that extends over 100 kilometres (62 mi) inland and is fed by two main rivers, the Young and Lort Rivers. The inlet itself is 10 kilometres (6 mi) long and 2 kilometres (1 mi) wide with an area of 14 square kilometres (5 sq mi), and receives an annual flow of 5 million cubic metres.^[3] The central basin has an area of 8.6 square kilometres (3 sq mi) with intertidal flats having an area of approximately 2 square kilometres (1 sq mi).^[4]

The mouth of the river is in the middle of Dunster Castle Bay; it is closed by a sandbar that cuts the estuary off from the sea and only opens every few years. As a result, the salinity and water level fluctuate greatly dependent upon the amount of evaporation and river flow.^[5]

Flora

The aquatic flora of the estuary are dominated by the small green algae Polyphysa peniculus, the stonewort Lamprothamnium papulosum, and the seagrass Ruppia megacarpa. The waterbody of the inlet is fringed with

Marine species flourish at times when the bar is open; blue manna crabs, juvenile prawns, cockles and mussels have all been identified in the inlet. Many fish species inhabit the estuary, such as the

References