Editing Swan River (Western Australia) (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Worldwind-Perth1.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite imagery of the Swan River and surrounds]]
The Swan River drains the Swan Coastal Plain, a total catchment area of over {{convert|100000|km2}} in area. The river is located in a Mediterranean climate, with hot dry summers and cool wet winters, although this balance appears to be changing due to climate change. The Swan is located on the edge of the Darling Scarp, flowing downhill across the coastal plain to its mouth at Fremantle.

===Sources===
The Swan begins as the Avon River, rising near Yealering in the [[Darling Scarp|Darling Range]], approximately {{convert|175|km}} from its mouth at Fremantle. The Avon flows north, passing through the towns of [[Brookton, Western Australia|Brookton]], [[Beverley, Western Australia|Beverley]], [[York, Western Australia|York]], [[Northam, Western Australia|Northam]] and [[Toodyay, Western Australia|Toodyay]]. It is joined by tributaries including the [[Dale River (Western Australia)|Dale River]], the [[Mortlock River]] and the Brockman River. The Avon becomes the Swan as Wooroloo Brook enters the river near Walyunga National Park.

===Tributaries===
More tributaries including [[Ellen Brook]], [[Jane Brook, Western Australia|Jane Brook]], Henley Brook, Wandoo Creek, [[Whiteman Park|Bennett Brook]], Blackadder Creek, Limestone Creek, Susannah Brook, and the [[Helena River]] enter the river between Wooroloo Brook and [[Guildford, Western Australia|Guildford]]; however, most of these have either dried up or become seasonally flowing due to human impacts such as land clearing and development.

===Swan coastal plain===
[[File:Swan River, Western Australia.jpg|thumb|right|Swampy wetlands between Perth and Guildford have been reclaimed for land development; however, {{vague |date=March 2025 |reason=Which one is this? Please tell us. |text=this one still remains.}} The Perth skyline can be seen in the far distance.]]
Between Perth and Guildford the river goes through several loops. Originally, areas including the Maylands Peninsula, [[Ascot, Western Australia|Ascot]] and [[Burswood, Western Australia|Burswood]], through [[Claise Brook]] and north of the city to [[Herdsman Lake]] were swampy wetlands. Most of the wetlands have since been reclaimed for land development. [[Heirisson Island]], upon which [[The Causeway]] passes over, was once a collection of small islets known as the Heirisson Islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b1817049~S2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706122939/http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b1817049~S2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 July 2011 |title=Improvements to Swan River navigation 1830–1840 |first1=James |last1=Thompson |date=29 December 2017 |publisher=Western Australian Institution of Engineers |via=henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au Library Catalog }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~2751~260036:The-Colony-of-Western-Australia—fr |title=The Colony of Western Australia. – David Rumsey Historical Map Collection |website=davidrumsey.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite Q |Q128749102 |mode=cs1 |orig-date=1809} |chapter=Chapter XI}}</ref>

===Perth Water and Melville Water===
[[Perth Water]], between the city and South Perth, is separated from the main estuary by the Narrows, over which the [[Narrows Bridge (Perth)|Narrows Bridge]] was built in 1959. The river then opens up into the large expanse of the river known as Melville Water. The [[Canning River]] enters the river at Canning Bridge in Applecross from its source {{convert|50|km}} south-east of [[Armadale, Western Australia|Armadale]]. The river is at its widest here, measuring more than {{convert|4|km}} from north to south. [[Point Walter]] has a protruding spit that extends up to {{convert|800|m}} into the river, forcing river traffic to detour around it.

===Narrowing and Fremantle===
[[File:Sunset freo inner harbour gnangarra.ogv|thumb|Sunset over the river mouth in Fremantle, with a bottlenose dolphin swimming across the middle of the screen]]
The river narrows between Chidley Point and Blackwall Reach, curving around Point Roe and Preston Point before narrowing into the harbour. [[Stirling Bridge]] and the [[Fremantle Traffic Bridge]] cross the river north of the rivermouth. The Swan River empties into the Indian Ocean at Fremantle Harbour.
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