# Torbay Inlet

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{{Short description|Inlet in Western Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
'''Torbay Inlet''' is an [estuarine](/source/estuarine) [inlet](/source/inlet) in the [Great Southern](/source/Great_Southern_(Western_Australia)) region of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia) situated approximately {{convert|40|km|mi|0}} east of the town of [Denmark, Western Australia](/source/Denmark%2C_Western_Australia).

Torbay Inlet is a wave-dominated estuary that functions primarily as a result of [wave energy](/source/wave_energy). The estuary has been severely modified as most of the natural [catchment](/source/Drainage_basin) cover has been cleared.

Covering a total surface area of {{convert|3.1|km2|sqmi|0}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dbforms.ga.gov.au/pls/www/npm.ozest.show_mm?pBlobno=9452|title=Estuary Assessment Framework for Non-Prisitine Estuaries - Estuary 896 - Torbay Inlet|year=2009|accessdate=25 April 2009}}</ref> {{convert|2.1|km2|sqmi|0}} of this is the central basin with the remainder being composed of saltmarsh and tidal delta. The lagoon is quite shallow and fringed with [sedges](/source/Cyperaceae) and [paperbark](/source/paperbark)s.

The inlet outflows into the [Southern Ocean](/source/Southern_Ocean) and is part of the Torbay Inlet and Lake Powell Catchment Area.

Much of the land surrounding the inlet has an elevation of less than {{convert|1|m|ft|0}} so that under certain tidal and wind conditions the land is inundated with sea water that floods back up the estuary. As a result, in 1912, a barrage with floodgates was constructed to prevent this, but this proved to be unsuccessful.

A [sandbar](/source/sandbar) exists across the mouth of the estuary for most of the year, but it is often breached following significant rain events.

Trekkers on the [Bibbulmun Track](/source/Bibbulmun_Track) use the either the sandbar to cross the inlet or an alternative route using the Lower Denmark Road to go around the inlet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/track-info/Track-Conditions/Inlet-Crossings.aspx|title=Inlet Crossings - Bibbulmun Track Foundation|year=2009|accessdate=25 April 2009}}</ref>

== Catchment ==

The catchment area is one of the most altered on the South Coast. The inlet drains a large swampland area that includes Lake Powell, Lake Manarup, Five Mile Swamp, Seven Mile Swamp and Marbelup Brook along with a number of man-made agricultural drains.

The area of the catchment is {{convert|330|km2|sqmi|0}} of which 55% has been cleared and contains {{convert|244|km|mi|0}} of water ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rivercare.southcoastwa.org.au/infodata/denmarkc/torbayi/torbay.html|title=South coast Rivercare - Torbay Inlet|year=2002|accessdate=25 April 2009}}</ref>

Some swampland in the lower catchment was drained to open land for [agriculture](/source/agriculture). Unfortunately this exposed [pyrite](/source/pyrite) in the soil that oxidised in the open air rendering the soil [acid](/source/acid) and infertile.

== Watershed Torbay ==

Watershed Torbay was a four-year project which planned and implemented a [restoration](/source/Conservation-restoration) plan for the Torbay Catchment. The Torbay catchment Group is the [community group](/source/community_group) that formed in 1999 to implement the restoration plan. The activities of the group include establishing and repairing fencing around the waterway, [Watsonia](/source/Watsonia_(plant)) control and Wetland construction for [nutrient](/source/nutrient) stripping.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.torbay.scric.org/tcg.html|title=Torbay Catchment Group|year=2007|accessdate=25 April 2009}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|-35.030|117.682|dim:5000_region:AU|display=title}}

Category:Estuaries of Western Australia
Category:City of Albany, Western Australia

{{WesternAustralia-geo-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Torbay Inlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torbay_Inlet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torbay_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.