Skip links and keyboard navigation

Queensland Government
WetlandInfo   —   Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation

HIDE THIS SECTION
Drainage basins

Ross drainage basin

Access wetland mapping in PDF and KML format by selecting the desired 100K map tile below or download the data via the Queensland Government Information Service.

The below map is for visual representation purposes only. For more detailed mapping, please download the boundary KML.

Drag this bar to relocate the map on your screen

Open WetlandMaps interactive map server

Download boundary KML (KMZ, 0.1 MB) metadata

How to use KMLs?

Name: Ross
Area type: Drainage basin
Total area: 170,598 ha
% total Qld: 0.1%
Towns: Cungulla, Deeragun, Nome, Pallarenda, Toonpan, Townsville
Page table of contents
Catchment stories
Wetland observations
Wetland extents
Wetland extent changes
Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUMC)
Drainage divisions
Drainage sub-basins
Regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies
Local government areas
100K map tiles
Climate zones
Bioregions
Biogeographic subregions
IBRA bioregions
IBRA subregions
Bioregional assessment areas
Marine meso-scale bioregions
Marine provincial bioregions
Regional plans
World Heritage areas
Ramsar internationally important wetlands
DIWA nationally important wetlands
National parks
Marine parks (Queensland)
Study areas
Report cards
Conservation parks
State forests
Forest reserves
Resources reserves
Timber reserves
Fish habitat areas
Coastal management district
Nature refuges
Freshwater biogeographic provinces
Aquatic Conservation Assessments (AquaBAMM) and others
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—conceptual models
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—management profiles
Groundwater dependent ecosystem type—conceptual models
Healthy Land and Water conceptual models
Water resource planning areas
Aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs
Point source monitoring
Wetland soil indicator case studies
Wetland management case studies
Wetland projects
Area specific conceptual model case studies
Paddock to Reef (P2R) report cards
Water Quality Improvement Plan catchments
EPP (Water) scheduled environmental values and water quality objectives
Shorebird zones
Biopassage structures
Related legislation/policies
External links/description
Wildlife

HIDE THIS SECTION
Catchment stories info

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland observations

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland extents info metadata

Based on wetland mapping version 6.0

Display areas in

Ross drainage basin wetland area by system 2019
System Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 27,475 100.0% 16.1%
Total excluding riverine and artificial/highly modified riverine 22,311 81.2% 13.1%
Artificial and highly modified 6,098 22.2% 3.6%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 13,757 50.1% 8.1%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 114 0.4% 0.1%
Lacustrine (natural) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 172 0.6% 0.1%
Palustrine (natural) 851 3.1% 0.5%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 1,321 4.8% 0.8%
Riverine 5,162 18.8% 3.0%

View wetland system extents for all drainage basins

Ross drainage basin wetland area by habitat 2019
Habitat Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 9,132 100.0% 5.4%
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0.0% 0.0%
Mangroves - other 3,844 42.1% 2.3%
Salt marsh and salt flats 3,154 34.5% 1.8%
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 3 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 27 0.3% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 209 2.3% 0.1%
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 223 2.4% 0.1%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 1,672 18.3% 1.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal < 1 0.0% 0.0%

View wetland habitat area for all drainage basins

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland extent changes

Ross drainage basin wetland extent change by system
System 2019 area
(ha)		 2017 area
(ha)		 2013 area
(ha)		 2009 area
(ha)		 2005 area
(ha)		 2001 area
(ha)		 pre-clear area
(ha)		 2019/pre-clear
percentage
Total 27,475 27,481 27,488 27,465 27,422 27,452 24,251 * 88.2%
Artificial and highly modified 6,098 6,095 6,077 6,033 5,917 5,886 0 n/a
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 13,757 13,757 13,765 13,767 13,778 13,789 15,104 91.1%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 114 114 123 123 123 123 0 n/a
Lacustrine (natural) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 172 172 171 171 171 171 0 n/a
Palustrine (natural) 851 851 855 859 872 875 1,465 58.1%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 1,321 1,321 1,319 1,320 1,320 1,336 0 n/a
Riverine 5,162 5,171 5,177 5,192 5,242 5,273 7,681 67.2%

* Total 2019/pre-clear percentage excludes artificial and highly modified

metadata View 2019 wetland system extents for all drainage basins

metadata View 2017 wetland system extents for all drainage basins

metadata View 2013 wetland system extents for all drainage basins

metadata View 2009 wetland system extents for all drainage basins

metadata View 2005 wetland system extents for all drainage basins

metadata View 2001 wetland system extents for all drainage basins

metadata View pre-clear wetland system extents for all drainage basins

metadata View 2019/pre-clear wetland system extent percentages for all drainage basins

Ross drainage basin wetland extent change by habitat
Habitat 2019 area
(ha)		 2017 area
(ha)		 2013 area
(ha)		 2009 area
(ha)		 2005 area
(ha)		 2001 area
(ha)
Total 9,132 9,132 9,134 9,140 9,158 9,189
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mangroves - other 3,844 3,844 3,842 3,843 3,844 3,844
Salt marsh and salt flats 3,154 3,154 3,155 3,155 3,161 3,172
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 3 3 3 3 3 3
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 27 27 27 27 27 27
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 209 209 209 209 209 209
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 223 223 223 223 223 223
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 1,672 1,672 1,674 1,678 1,691 1,711
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1

metadata View 2019 wetland habitat area for all drainage basins

metadata View 2017 wetland habitat area for all drainage basins

metadata View 2013 wetland habitat area for all drainage basins

metadata View 2009 wetland habitat area for all drainage basins

metadata View 2005 wetland habitat area for all drainage basins

metadata View 2001 wetland habitat area for all drainage basins

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

HIDE THIS SECTION
Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUMC) metadata

Ross drainage basin land use
ALUMC code and description
Area (ha)
% total area
Total 170,506 99.9%
2.1 Grazing native vegetation 82,673 48.5%
1.1 Nature conservation 29,883 17.5%
1.3 Other minimal use 16,759 9.8%
5.4 Residential and farm infrastructure 12,465 7.3%
6.5 Marsh/wetland 6,919 4.1%
6.2 Reservoir/dam 5,729 3.4%
2.2 Production native forests 4,495 2.6%
5.5 Services 4,420 2.6%
5.7 Transport and communication 2,600 1.5%
5.3 Manufacturing and industrial 1,091 0.6%
6.3 River 722 0.4%
4.4 Irrigated perennial horticulture 678 0.4%
5.8 Mining 546 0.3%
4.5 Irrigated seasonal horticulture 280 0.2%
4.3 Irrigated cropping 273 0.2%
5.9 Waste treatment and disposal 250 0.1%
5.2 Intensive animal production 203 0.1%
5.6 Utilities 148 0.1%
3.3 Cropping 104 0.1%
6.4 Channel/aqueduct 84 0.0%
3.2 Grazing modified pastures 82 0.0%
6.1 Lake 47 0.0%
1.2 Managed resource protection 20 0.0%
5.1 Intensive horticulture 12 0.0%
3.4 Perennial horticulture 9 0.0%
3.1 Plantation forests 6 0.0%
6.6 Estuary/coastal waters 3 0.0%
4.6 Irrigated land in transition 2 0.0%
3.6 Land in transition 1 0.0%

HIDE THIS SECTION
Drainage divisions info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Drainage sub-basins info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Local government areas info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
100K map tiles info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Climate zones info metadata

  • map Subtropical
  • map Tropical

HIDE THIS SECTION
Bioregions info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Biogeographic subregions info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
IBRA bioregions info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
IBRA subregions info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Bioregional assessment areas info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Marine meso-scale bioregions metadata

  • map Lucinda-Mackay Coast (LMC)

HIDE THIS SECTION
Marine provincial bioregions metadata

  • map Northeast Shelf Province

HIDE THIS SECTION
Regional plans info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
World Heritage areas info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Ramsar internationally important wetlands info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
DIWA nationally important wetlands info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
National parks info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Marine parks (Queensland) info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Study areas metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Report cards metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Conservation parks info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
State forests info metadata

  • map Mingela State Forest

HIDE THIS SECTION
Forest reserves info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Resources reserves info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Timber reserves info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Fish habitat areas info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Coastal management district info metadata

  • map Available (all have been combined since February 2012)

HIDE THIS SECTION
Nature refuges info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Freshwater biogeographic provinces info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Aquatic Conservation Assessments (AquaBAMM) and others info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—conceptual models info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—management profiles info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Groundwater dependent ecosystem type—conceptual models info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Healthy Land and Water conceptual models info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Water resource planning areas info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Point source monitoring info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland soil indicator case studies info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland management case studies info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wetland projects info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Area specific conceptual model case studies info metadata

none

HIDE THIS SECTION
Paddock to Reef (P2R) report cards info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Water Quality Improvement Plan catchments info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
EPP (Water) scheduled environmental values and water quality objectives info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Shorebird zones info metadata

HIDE THIS SECTION
Biopassage structures info metadata

Name Construction year Structure types Stream name
map Aims Road 1 2010 Culvert Unnamed Creek
map Aims Road 2 2010 Culvert Unnamed Creek
map Alligator Creek Weir 2011 Rock Ramp Alligator Creek
map Town Common 2011 Rock Ramp Unnamed Creek
map Town Common Ds 2011 Culvert Unnamed Creek
map University Creek 2010 Rock Ramp, Culvert University Creek

HIDE THIS SECTION
Wildlife

Kingdom
Class
 Native Introduced Wetland
indicator
species		 Rare or
threatened
species		 All
TOTAL 2,036 309 318 59 2,345
Animals 719 29 179 49 748
Mammals 74 12 6 8 86
Birds 410 8 93 29 418
Reptiles 131 2 21 8 133
Amphibians 26 1 11 1 27
Ray-finned fishes 40 6 45 1 46
Cartilaginous fishes 1 0 1 1 1
Insects 34 0 2 0 34
Malacostracans 3 0 0 1 3
Bacteria 2 0 0 0 2
Chromists 8 0 0 0 8
Fungi 10 0 0 0 10
Plants 1,297 280 139 10 1,577

Note: Wildlife statistics are based on information that has been submitted to the DETSI WildNet database and converted to a 10km² grid. The grid information has been intersected with the mapping polygons to determine the species lists. Click here to view the species grid metadata.

Information from WildNet can also be accessed via Wildlife Online and WetlandMaps.

Rare or threatened includes species listed as extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable or conservation dependent under either the Nature Conservation Act or Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act

Disclaimer: While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of this product, the Queensland Government and Australian Government make no representations or warranties about its accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability for any particular purpose and disclaim all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages (including indirect or consequential damage) and costs which might be incurred as a consequence of reliance on the product, or as a result of the product being inaccurate or incomplete in any way and for any reason.

AreaType-basin

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2013) Ross drainage basin — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 16 April 2025. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/basin-ross/

BESbswy