The Purari —: Tropical Environment of a High Rainfall River BasinT. Petr One of the major river systems of our country, the Purari River, finds its outlet to the sea in the Gulf of Papua on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea. All highlands provinces contribute to this mighty river: the Erave of the Southern Highlands Province joins with the Kaugel and Wahgi Rivers (Western High lands), the Tua River (Simbu), and Asaro and Aure Rivers of the Eastern High lands Province to make the Purari the third largest river in P. N. G. Unlike its rivals, the Fly and the Sepik, the distance between its escape from the mountains and its entrance to the sea is short. After winding its way mostly through deep gorges flanked by high mountains, the river leaves the foothills of the southern slopes of the central cordillera barely eighty kilometers from the sea. The energy potential of such a river is enormous. Could the waters be utilised in any way to the advantage of the nation? Twelve years ago the Electricity Com mission of Papua New Guinea proposed an answer to this question: the building of a dam across the river in the Wabo area of the Gulf Province. The generation of vast quantities of hydro-electric power could be fed into a national distribu tion grid and heavy industries could be established in the Gulf Province and other suitable localities to benefit from this power. |
Contents
Geomorphology of the Purari Delta by B G Thom | 47 |
Soil types and traditional soil management in the Purari catch | 67 |
Clay mineralogy of selected soils and sediments of the Purari | 87 |
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Common terms and phrases
altitude aquatic arbovirus Aure River Australian Baimuru brackish clay coastal crabs Creek crocodile Daribi deltaic distributary Ecology Environment and Conservation erosion estuary fish fishery flow forest freshwater Giluwe Goroka grassland Gulf of Papua Gulf Province habitats Haines Hathor Hathor Gorge highlands Hydroelectric Hydroelectric Scheme Environmental Kapuna Karimui Kerema Kikori Kikori River Lake land landforms limestone lower Purari lowland m³/sec mangal mangrove Mapaio montmorillonite mosquito mountains nutrients occur Office of Environment Paijmans Papua New Guinea Pawaia penaeid Pernetta Petr Pickup population Port Moresby prawns protein Purari basin Purari catchment Purari Delta Purari River Wabo rainfall range sago palm salinity samples Scheme Environmental Studies sediment Sepik Simbu Province slopes soils species subsistence survey swamp Table tephras tidal tion trees tropical upper Purari upstream Uraru Urika valleys vegetation village volcanic ash volume Wahgi Waigani Warrillow wildlife zone µS/cm