Australian Natural Resources Atlas

Natural Resource Topics

Water resources - Overview - Queensland

Location map of Great Artesian Basin - Central - Queensland

Groundwater Management Unit: Great Artesian Basin - Central - Queensland

Introduction

The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) comprises 23 hydrologic zones (accounting for interstate / territory boundaries). These zones were determined by the Great Artesian Basin Consultative Council (GABCC) in 1999. The total area of the GAB is approximately 1.8 million sq km.

The Central (QLD) Groundwater Management Unit (GMU) is one of these hydrologic zones. Its area is about 208400 sq km which accounts for about 11.6% of the total GAB area.

The Central (QLD) zone lies within the centre of the GAB. This zone extends about 480km east from the Northern Territory border, 200km north and 240km east of the South Australian border and a little under 600km north of the New South Wales boundary. The towns of Thargomindah and Windorah lie within the Central (QLD) zone.

Natural surface levels predominantly range from zero to 200 m above mean sea level. In some small areas of the zone, mainly to the northeast, elevation may reach up to 300m above mean sea level.

Rainfall in the Central (QLD) zone varies from about 100 to 300 mm/yr, generally increasing towards the east. Evaporation generally exceeds average annual rainfall by up to 4000 mm to the west, while in the east of the zone, this deficit is between 2400 and 3200 mm/yr.

The dominant land use is for cattle industry purposes, while some land along the eastern boundary of the zone is used for sheep as well as cattle.

Leasehold land tenure predominates this zone with some Freehold Land existing in the northeastern corner. A small section in the northeast of the zone exists as Defence Land.

Much of this zone is covered by varieties of shrubland. Other vegetation types scattered throughout the zone include low open forest, dense sown pasture and woodland.

Vital Statistics:

Area: 208,400 Km2
Total water allocated: no data
Total water consumed: 28,000 ML/yr
Average salinity: 1,697 mg/l
Sustainable yield: 16,680 ML/yr
Depth to top of aquifier: 0 m

Further Information

Key

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