Wilson Inlet

Wilson Inlet is a beautiful and tranquil shallow, seasonally open estuary located on the coast of the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

It is 14 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide, receiving water from the Denmark River, Hay River, and other smaller rivers and streams. The inlet is separated into two basins and has an average depth of 1.8 meters. It is situated on a narrow coastal plain between granite hills and coastal dunes. The inlet has a total catchment area of 2,263 square kilometers, covering parts of the Shire of Plantagenet, the Shire of Denmark, and the City of Albany.

Wilson Inlet is a wave-dominated estuary with a 100-meter wide opening mouth that is blocked by a sandbar from late January to August. It discharges through Nullaki Point at the eastern end of Ocean Beach into the Southern Ocean. The low-lying land adjacent to the inlet consists of swamps with lakes to the east. The majority of the catchment area is within the Albany-Fraser geological province, with the original granite overlaid with sands and laterite.

The inlet was formed 6000-8000 years ago when rising sea levels flooded an ancient river valley. The original inhabitants of the inlet and its surroundings were the Noongar Aboriginal Australian people. Dr. Thomas Wilson visited the area in 1829 and the inlet was named after him by Governor Stirling. The catchment area was settled in the 1890s and timber mills were constructed in 1895. Land clearing began in the 1920s, with 44% of the catchment area cleared by 1982.

The mouth of the inlet is dominated by rushes and paper