# Stokes Inlet > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stokes_Inlet > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stokes_Inlet.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokes_Inlet > Source revision: 1323779049 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Inlet on south coast of Western Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=December 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox Australian place|type = other | name = Stokes Inlet | state = wa | image = Stokes Inlet from the lookout at the Stokes Inlet Picnic Area, January 2024 02.jpg | caption = The inlet seen from the lookout at the Stokes Inlet Picnic Area | lga = [Shire of Esperance](/source/Shire_of_Esperance) | mapframe-marker = yes | local_map = yes | zoom = 12 | coordinates = {{coord|33|49|11|S|121|9|39|E|region:AU-WA_type:waterbody|display=title, inline}} | area = }} '''Stokes Inlet''' is an [inlet](/source/inlet) in the [Goldfields-Esperance](/source/Goldfields-Esperance) region of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia). The inlet is situated {{convert|65|km|mi|0}} west of [Esperance](/source/Esperance%2C_Western_Australia) in [Stokes National Park](/source/Stokes_National_Park) and is set is a large [river](/source/river) [valley](/source/valley) with permanent deep water and high dunes located on either side. Thick bushland and [paperbark](/source/paperbark) trees surround the inlet and grow down to the waters edge. It is in a largely unmodified condition. The inlet functions primarily as a result of wave energy and is a wave dominated [estuary](/source/estuary). Stokes Inlet was named in 1848 by [John Septimus Roe](/source/John_Septimus_Roe), the [Surveyor General of Western Australia](/source/Surveyor_General_of_Western_Australia), while leading a five-man exploration expedition along the coast, commemorating [John Lort Stokes](/source/John_Lort_Stokes)' work on {{HMS|Beagle}}, surveying the Western Australian coast.{{cite web |last1=Jamieson |first1=Daryl |title=The Very Early Pioneers of Munglinup |url=https://sites.google.com/site/munglinuppioneers19571972/home/the-very-early-pioneers |website=Munglinup Pioneers 1957–1972 |access-date=7 July 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Hodgkin |first1=Ernest P. |last2=Clark |first2=Ruth |title=Estuaries and coastal lagoons of south Western Australia. Stokes Inlet and other estuaries of the Shire of Esperance: Stokes Inlet and other estuaries of the Shire of Esperance. |date=June 1989 |publisher=Environmental Protection Authority |location=Perth, WA |isbn=0 7309 19579 |url=https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/Journals/080553/080553-05.pdf |access-date=7 July 2021}} == Geography == The inlet is managed by the [Department of Environment and Conservation](/source/Department_of_Environment_and_Conservation_(Western_Australia)) with a [catchment](/source/drainage_basin) that extends over {{convert|100|km|mi|0}} inland and is fed by two main rivers, the [Young](/source/Young_River_(Western_Australia)) and [Lort](/source/Lort_River) Rivers. The inlet itself is {{convert|10|km|mi|0}} long and {{convert|2|km|mi|0}} wide with an area of {{convert|14|km2|sqmi|0}}, and receives an annual flow of 5 million cubic metres.{{cite web|url=http://www.rivercare.southcoastwa.org.au/infodata/youngc/stokesi/stokes.html|title=South Coast Rivercare - Stokes Inlet|year=2000|accessdate=1 November 2008}} The central basin has an area of {{convert|8.6|km2|sqmi|0}} with intertidal flats having an area of approximately {{convert|2|km2|sqmi|0}}.{{cite web|url=http://dbforms.ga.gov.au/pls/www/npm.ozest.show_mm?pBlobno=9291|title=Estuary Assessment framework - Estuary 637 - Stokes Inlet|year=2002|accessdate=22 May 2009}} The mouth of the river is in the middle of Dunster Castle Bay; it is closed by a sandbar that cuts the [estuary](/source/estuary) off from the sea and only opens every few years. As a result, the [salinity](/source/salinity) and water level fluctuate greatly dependent upon the amount of [evaporation](/source/evaporation) and river flow.{{cite web|url=http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/component/option,com_hotproperty/task,view/id,104/Itemid,755/|title=Department of Environment and Conservation - Park Finder|year=2008|accessdate=11 October 2010}} == Flora == The aquatic flora of the estuary are dominated by the small green [algae](/source/algae) ''[Polyphysa peniculus](/source/Polyphysa_peniculus)'', the stonewort ''[Lamprothamnium papulosum](/source/Lamprothamnium_papulosum)'', and the seagrass ''[Ruppia megacarpa](/source/Ruppia_megacarpa)''. The waterbody of the inlet is fringed with [salt water paperbarks](/source/Melaleuca_cuticularis) with [sedge](/source/sedge)s and [samphire](/source/samphire) common along the sandy sections.{{cite web|url=http://portal.water.wa.gov.au/portal/page/portal/WaterManagement/Waterways/RiversEstuaries/Content/Benwenerup%20a%20management%20plan%20for%20Stokes%20Inlet_final%20with.pdf|title=Benwenerup: A management plan for Stokes Inlet|year=2008|accessdate=1 November 2008}} == Fauna == Marine species flourish at times when the bar is open; [blue manna crabs](/source/Portunus_pelagicus), juvenile [prawn](/source/prawn)s, [cockle](/source/Cockle_(bivalve))s and [mussel](/source/mussel)s have all been identified in the inlet. Many fish species inhabit the estuary, such as the [common minnow](/source/common_minnow), [hardyhead](/source/Craterocephalus)s, [gobie](/source/Goby)s, and larger species such as [black bream](/source/Acanthopagrus_butcheri) and [sea mullet](/source/Mugil_cephalus). == References == {{reflist}} Category:Inlets of Western Australia Category:South coast of Western Australia Category:Shire of Esperance --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stokes Inlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokes_Inlet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokes_Inlet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.