Geography
Matthew Flinders called Yorke Peninsula 'singular in
form, having some semblance to an ill-shaped leg and foot' and with a little imagination the coastline is a little
reminiscent of Italy- minus Sicily.
The Peninsula stretches
officially some 241kms, from Cape Spencer in the south through to Port
Broughton in the north and separates the Spencer Gulf (to the west) from
the St. Vincent Gulf to the east. At its widest (at Arthurton), the
Peninsula is only 48km from coast to coast and this narrows to 32km down
south.
The Peninsula has a total
area of some 4,200sq.km contained within approximately 563km of
coastline.
11,500 people live on Yorke Peninsula in 12 main towns
and 33 townships.
'Undulating' best describes
the gently rolling land. Arthurton in CYP reaches a height of some 244m
but the average elevation is only 91m.
The coastline varies
considerably around the Peninsula, ranging from mangrove swamps, through
to long and wide beaches, through to spectacular cliffs and capes.
Yorke Peninsula has no
permanent running streams but does feature a series of lagoons or lakes
in the southern region. These include:
-
The Salt Lake District
with over a 100 circular lakes around Yorketown. The large Lake
Fowler is 1.6km long and 107m wide.
-
The Gypsum Lake District
near Stenhouse Bay
-
The Peesey Swamp east of
Warooka.
The Peninsula's temperatures are mild (Low 4ēC in
winter, high 40ēC in summer), particularly in
the south. Rainfall is moderate (wettest months are May through
September) with an average rainfall of around 50cm in Maitland.
Land-clearing by the early settlers rapidly reduced much
of Yorke Peninsula to open, treeless, paddocks. Visitors to the
Peninsula can see examples of native vegetation along the roadside with
some untouched scrub near Warooka. Look out for:
-
Mallee (Aboriginal for a thicket of Eucalyptus)
scrub along roadsides.
-
Savannah woodlands near Maitland where the higher
rainfall results in larger, shadier, and less shrubby undergrowth.
-
Native Cypress trees near Ardrossan.
-
River red Gums near Gum Flat at Minlaton.
-
Samphire and Swamp Bluebells near Warooka.
-
Mallee Heath with Golden wattles, Native Cherries,
Native Fuchsia, and many more.
