Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Hunter Region
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== Geography == ===Geology=== [[File:Karte Sydneybecken.png|thumb|upright|The Sydney Basin showing the Great Dividing Range, the Hunter Valley and the Barrington Tops to the north of the Hunter]] The Hunter Region is considered a transitional area between the [[Paleozoic]] rock foundation of the [[New England Fold Belt]] located to the south and the [[Early Permian]] and [[Middle Triassic]] period rock formations of the [[Sydney Basin]] to the south. Between these two geological areas is the Hunter-[[Mooki River|Mooki]] Thrust fault.<ref name="Hunter Valley Research Foundation">''"[http://www.hvrf.com.au/pages/hrf/hunter_region_yearbook.php Hunter Valley Research Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018070454/http://www.hvrf.com.au/pages/hrf/hunter_region_yearbook.php |date=18 October 2009 }}"'' Web. 1 June 2010.</ref> At one time this fault was very geologically active and gave rise to the Brokenback range that feature prominently in the Hunter region. Strips of [[basalt]] found throughout the region also bear witness to the volcanic activity that has occurred in the history of this fault.<ref name="Wine Atlas"/> The Permian rocks in the central and southeastern expanse of the Lower Hunter Valley were formed when the area was underneath a shallow marine [[estuary]]. The remnants of this period has left an extensive network of coal seams that fuelled the early population boom of the Hunter Valley in the 19th century as well a high degree of [[salinity]] in the water table of much of the area. The further north and west, towards the Brokenback Range and the Upper Hunter, the more [[Triassic]] sandstone that can be found leading eventually to the [[carboniferous]] rocks that form the northern boundary of the Hunter with the New England Fold Belt and the foothills of the [[Barrington Tops]].<ref name="Hunter Valley Research Foundation"/> Overall, the Hunter Valley has more soils (mostly hard, acidic patches of poorly draining heavy clay) that are unsuitable for viticulture than they have areas that are ideal for growing grapes. The soils of the Lower Hunter vary widely from sandy [[alluvial]] flats (often planted to Semillon), to deep friable [[loam]] (often planted with Shiraz) and friable red [[duplex soils]]. In the Upper Hunter, the rivers and creeks of the region contribute to the areas black, silty loam soils that are often overlaid on top of [[alkaline]] clay loam. Among the hills of the Brokenback range are strips of volcanic basalt that are prized by growers for their tendencies to restrict vigor and concentrate mineral flavours in the grapes.<ref name="Wine Atlas"/> The [[Warkworth Sands Woodland of the Hunter Valley]] are situated on these soils.<ref name="listing">{{Cite web|title=Warkworth Sands woodland in the Sydney Basin Bioregion – endangered ecological community listing: final determination {{!}} NSW Environment, Energy and Science|url=https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/WarkworthSandsWoodlandSydneyEndComListing.htm|access-date=2021-05-17|website=www.environment.nsw.gov.au|date=2011-02-28|author=NSW Scientific Committee|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018021604/https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/WarkworthSandsWoodlandSydneyEndComListing.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> === Rivers === The main river in the region is the Hunter River, after which the region is named. Other rivers in the region include the [[Allyn River|Allyn]], [[Avon River (Mid-Coast Council)|Avon]], [[Barrington River (New South Wales)|Barrington]], [[Bow River (New South Wales)|Bow]], [[Bowman River|Bowman]], [[Chichester River|Chichester]], [[Gloucester River|Gloucester]], [[Goulburn River (New South Wales)|Goulburn]], [[Isis River (New South Wales)|Isis]], [[Karuah River|Karuah]], [[Krui River|Krui]], [[Mammy Johnsons River|Mammy Johnsons]], [[Merriwa River|Merriwa]], [[Munmurra River|Munmurra]], [[Pages River|Pages]], [[Paterson River|Paterson]], [[Wangat River|Wangat]] and [[Williams River (New South Wales)|Williams]] rivers. Despite being the area's namesake, the Hunter River itself is not the dominant feature of the region—falling behind the Brokenback Range for that distinction. The greater river system of the Hunter, which includes the Goulburn and important tributaries such as Giants Creek, do provide needed [[irrigation (wine)|irrigation]] for areas such as the Upper Hunter than can be prone to drought condition. The origins of the river begin the [[Liverpool Range]] of the volcanic [[Barrington Tops]] and flows south and then east down to the [[Pacific Ocean]] at the seaport city of [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]].<ref name="Hunter Valley Research Foundation"/> === Water supply === Fresh water supply for the region is provided from a number of sources, which are managed by the Hunter Water and State Water Corporations.<ref name=hwcleaflet>{{cite web |url=http://www.hunterwater.com.au/files/Tillegra_Dam_Proposal_-_General_Information_Leaflet.pdf |title=Tillegra Dam Proposal |publisher=Hunter Water Corporation |access-date=3 October 2010 |archive-date=18 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218144325/http://www.hunterwater.com.au/files/Tillegra_Dam_Proposal_-_General_Information_Leaflet.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> State Water Corporation's dams supply water for irrigation, industrial use at coal mines and the region's [[coal-fired power station]]s, and town water to upper Hunter Region towns. Hunter Water Corporation's dams supply the large urban population of more than 500,000 living near the coast and centred on the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. State Water Corporation's [[Glenbawn Dam|Glenbawn]], the largest dam in the region, [[Chichester Dam|Chichester]] and [[Lostock Dam|Lostock]] are dams on the Hunter, Chichester and Paterson rivers respectively. Hunter Water Corporation's [[Grahamstown Dam]], the largest dam supplying the urban areas of the lower Hunter Region, is supplied with water diverted from the Williams River just north of the Seaham Weir, through a large pump station at Balickera. The dam itself has only a small natural catchment and relies mainly on the pumped water from the Williams River.<ref name=hwcleaflet/> A [[Tillegra Dam proposal|proposal to build Tillegra Dam]] on the Williams River existed since the 1950s, but was scrapped in 2010.<ref name=hwcleaflet/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/463914/retrofitting-an-alternative-to-tillegra/ |title='Retrofitting' an alternative to Tillegra |first=Jacqui |last=Jones |work=[[The Newcastle Herald]] |date=29 November 2010 |access-date=29 November 2010 |archive-date=20 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820195155/http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/news/general/retrofitting-an-alternative-to-tillegra/2010803.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to the dams, fresh water for the lower Hunter Region is supplied from the [[Tomago, New South Wales|Tomago Sandbeds]], via a series of bores. === Towns and cities === The Hunter Region includes four cities. In order of population these are [[City of Lake Macquarie|Lake Macquarie]], [[City of Newcastle|Newcastle]], [[City of Maitland|Maitland]] and [[City of Cessnock|Cessnock]]. Other major centres of the Hunter Region are [[Dungog]], [[Gloucester, New South Wales|Gloucester]], [[Kurri Kurri]], [[Muswellbrook]], [[Raymond Terrace]], [[Scone, New South Wales|Scone]] and [[Singleton, New South Wales|Singleton]].
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)