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Care for Cardinia Creek |
Geology and Landscape
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Beaconsfield Flora and
Fauna Reserve Friends of Cardinia Creek Sanctuary Managing the
Beaconsfield Flora and Fauna Reserve
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The BFFR is nestled in the middle of the  Cardinia Creek Valley. The Cardinia Creek begins at the Cardinia Reservoir in Dewhurst / Upper Beaconsfield. In these northern hills, the landscape is dominated by rolling pastures and forested hills. Towards the middle reaches of the creek around Beaconsfield, the valley opens out to form a floodplain bordered to the east and west by two ridges running parallel to the Cardinia Creek. As the creek flows into the lower reaches towards Westernport Bay, it flows through wide floodplains that stretch across what was once the Great Kooweerup Swamp. This area was drained in the 1800's to provide the rich, peat soils that exists in the Kooweerup region today. The main rock in the upper reaches of the Cardinia Creek is granite. Large granite boulders can be seen in areas around the Cardinia Reservoir Park. As the creek flows through the Cardinia Valley, the main rock type becomes sandstone. The soils in the Beaconsfield area are most what is referred to as 'Narre clay loam'. These soils are recent 'alluvium' deposits, meaning that are formed through sediments originating from eroded material upstream and carried by water to be deposited over time further downstream. Sandy loam and clay loam are the dominant soil types along most of the path of the Cardinia Creek until it reaches the Cardinia / Dalmore area. Here, the soils immediately around the creek are sandy, but surrounded by 'Dalmore Clay' that is a deep clay with a high proportion of organic matter as a result of the draining of the Kooweerup Swamp in the 1800's. This rich soil is valuable for agriculture and horticulture.
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Gully erosion has been
a major problem along the Cardinia Creek, particularly in the middle and
lower reaches of the creek around Clyde. The removal of riparian (streamside)
vegetation, and the draining of swamps, made the sandy, alluvial soils
less stable. In the lower reaches of the creek, gully erosion created a
ravine that was up to 10 metres deep and 30 - 50 metres wide.
Engineering and revegetation works were vital to prevent the erosion
continuing to spread north, threatening to reach the Beaconsfield area over time.
Gully erosion is
still easily seen along the Cardinia Creek near BFFR. This occurs partly
as a
result of a lack of riparian vegetation, particularly on the Western
side of the creek, and disturbance of the creek banks by walkers. The
bare sandy areas along the creek are easily eroded during times of high
flow of the creek. Visitors can help to protect the creek banks by
staying away from eroded areas when walking and by helping to plant and
protect revegetation areas.