The Coorong, and Lakes Alexandrina & Albert Wetland. 01/11/85; South Australia; 142,530 ha; 35°56’S 139°18’E. National Park, Game Reserves and Crown Land; Shorebird Network Site. The site is located at the mouth of the River Murray, south east of the city of Adelaide. It consists of two lakes forming a wetland system at the river’s mouth and a long, shallow brackish-to-hypersaline lagoon which they feed into, separated from the ocean by a narrow sand dune peninsula. The lakes contain water of varying salinity and include a unique mosaic of 23 wetland types including intertidal mud, sand and salt flats, coastal brackish/saline lagoons and permanent freshwater lakes. The site is of international importance for migratory waterbirds and supports the greatest wealth of waterbird species in the Murray-Darling Basin. It hosts important nesting colonies of cormorants, plovers, ibises and terns, and also supports globally endangered species such as the Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) and the Murray Cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii). The site is popular for recreation activities include camping, boating, regulated duck hunting, and supports a range of commercial activities related to tourism, irrigated agriculture, and commercial fishing. The area is central to aboriginal culture and spiritual beliefs, and it is noted for its extensive sites of historic and geological importance. Ramsar site no. 321. Most recent RIS information: 2013.

South Australia