Geography Skills .gov.au



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Describe the physical environment and land uses of the area.

Traditional Lake Albert was a natural swamp area used by the local __________________

people as a source of ___________, ______________ and _______________ resources.

The surrounding ecosystem was best described as a Box Gum Grassy _______________ with active summer ______________ grasses. The yearly rainfall is _______mm per year, with a___________ maximum. __________ thunderstorms are the major contributing factor to soil ___________ as native pastures have been replaced by winter crops. __________ slopes in upper catchment and highly erodible soils.

Lake Albert Catchment

A catchment is an area of land which catches __________ which then flows to the lowest point, the lake.

We use the natural ____________ of the catchment, (soil, water, plants, animals and land) and in doing so create problems which need to be managed for sustainable use.

The Lake Albert catchment is ________hectares while Lake Albert is __________hectares in total area. The water collects __________________and ______________ soil and transports them to the lake which becomes a collection basin. The health of the lake indicates the health of the ______________.

Facts

The lake was created when Crooked Creek was diverted into what was a swamp in ____________.

Stringybark Creek was diverted into the lake in _____________.

The average water depth of Lake Albert is _________ metres

The total water capacity of Lake Albert is __________ megalitres.

The volume of water lost per year to evaporation is ____________ megalitres

Problems

Low water levels combined increasing salinity and nutrient levels

Competing user groups all want different things from the Wagga Wagga Council.

* Boat Club * Golf Club * Fishing * Local Residents * Farmers * Reacreational Users

Catchment sediment (eroded soil) entering the lake each year is _______________ m3.

Stringybark Ck: ____________ tonnes km2 of catchment

Crooked Ck _____________ tonnes km2 of catchment

In 2006 some reports say the lake will be unusable for recreation (boating) within __________ years.

Overview of the lake

Complete a field sketch of the lake and it’s catchment. Label all key features and indicate the direction.

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Labels:

Crooked Creek, Stringybark Creek, Marshalls Creek

Lake Surface Area, Catchment Area, Total Lake capacity, Yearly evaporation

Old Residential, New Residential, Rural, Industrial, Recreational

North, South, East, West. Elevation

Crooked Creek Sediment, Stringbark Creek Sediment, Catchment Sediment

Lake Water Quality

|TEST |RESULT |MANAGEMENT |

|TURBIDITY (NTU) (nephlometer) | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|SALINITY (EC) | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|PHOSPHORUS | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|AMMONIA | | |

|OXYGEN | | |

|pH: | | |

Other Water Quality Issues

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Soil Survey

|Abiotic Features |Results |

|Temperature | |

|Wind Speed and Direction | |

|Humidity | |

|Elevation | |

|Slope (deg) | |

|Soil colour | |

|Soil pH | |

|Soil texture | |

|Soil Salinity | |

|Soil Slaking | |

Soil Texture Test Key

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Sketch the inflow channel and label the erosion control methods evident.

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Salinity

Groundwater may discharge where the water table is close to the surface in the lower catchment. The groundwater evaporates, leaving any dissolved salts behind causing a saline outbreak.

Indicators of saline area: Tick the indicators present

|INDICATOR |YES |NO |

Salinity rating:

Give the area a Salinity rating using the information above. Explain why the soil salinity readings vary. ____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Groundwater:

What is a Piezometer?_____________________________________________________

Measure the depth of the watertable and comment: ______________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Measure the groundwater salinity level and comment: ____________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

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Riparian zone habitat assessment

| Riparian Vegetation |Excellent |Good |Fair |Poor |

|Score Native Trees | | | | |

|Water plants |Variety of aquatic plants on bank|Variety of aquatic plants. |Some aquatic plants. |No aquatic plants. 4 |

|(growing in water) |and in water. Covers over of 30% |Cover 30-10% water. 8 |Cover less than 10% of | |

| |water surface. | |water. 6 | |

| |10 | | | |

|Score Water Plants | | | | |

|Snags and overhanging |Many snags and trees overhanging |Some snags and overhanging |Snags  and overhanging |No snags or overhanging |

|trees |bank. |trees. 8 |trees infrequent. 6 |trees. 4 |

| |10 | | | |

|Score Snags | | | | |

|Willows |No willows plants. |Occasional willows. 8 |Some willows along |Many willows overhanging|

| |10 | |banks. 6 |water. 4 |

|Score Willows | | | | |

Interpretation of Results: add up your total score and check table below.

|Score:   |[pic] |   Assessment: |[pic] |

|Assessment |Excellent |Good |Fair |Poor |

|Features |Excellent habitat, site |Good habitat, site almost |Moderate habitat, major |Degraded, reduced habitat |

| |almost natural, high |natural. |alterations from natural |value, low biodiversity of |

| |biodiversity of species. |34-28 |state. |species. < 19 |

| |40-35 | |27-20 | |

Comment on the condition of the Riparian zone around the lake

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