page_title: Onkaparinga River
section_title: Course and features
hierarchical_section_title: Onkaparinga River / Course and features
caption_attribution_description: English: nla.pic-an20886593-26 PIC Album 951 Sweet, Samuel White, 1825-1886. Clarendon Bridge [with 4-horse cart loaded with wood] [picture]. between 1869 and 1889. 1 photograph&#160;: gelatin silver&#160;; 20 cm. x 14.5 cm. Part of Captain Sweet's views of South Australia [picture]. Taken from http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.pic-an20886593-26&amp;referercode=pc en:Category:Images of Adelaide Hills
context_page_description: The Onkaparinga River, known as Ngangkiparri in the Kaurna language, is a river located in the Southern Adelaide region in the Australian state of South Australia.
context_section_description: The Onkaparinga River rises on the slopes of the Mount Lofty Range between Mount Torrens and Charleston and flows generally southwesterly, south of the Adelaide city centre, to reach its mouth at Port Noarlunga. The catchment area is over 500 square kilometres (190 square miles) in area, and in part includes the protected areas of the Encounter Marine Park, the Onkaparinga River National Park, the Onkaparinga River Recreation Park and the Port Noarlunga Reef Aquatic Reserve. The river descends 422 metres (1,385 ft) over its 88-kilometre (55 mi) course.
  The Onkaparinga River is the second major river within the Adelaide metropolitan area, after the River Torrens. It is a source of fresh water for Adelaide. Mount Bold Reservoir was constructed between 1932 and 1938 along a section of its path approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) inland. Much of its flow is diverted via a tunnel from the Clarendon Weir to the Happy Valley Reservoir, that in turn supplies some 40 per cent of Adelaide's water supply. Most years the flow to the reservoir is supplemented by water pumped from the River Murray via a pipeline from Murray Bridge.
  Downstream from Mount Bold Reservoir is the Clarendon Weir. To maintain levels at Clarendon Weir, water is released only as required. The Onkaparinga Gorge extends from Clarendon to Old Noarlunga. An estuary extends from Old Noarlunga to the river's mouth between the suburbs of Port Noarlunga and Port Noarlunga South. The estuary is a significant breeding area for local marine fish species.
  The Coast to Vines rail trail crosses over the river just west of where Main South Road crosses over.  The Seaford railway line passes over the river on a 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) elevated bridge (known as the Onkaparinga Valley Bridge) which was built between 2011 and 2014.
caption: Bridge over the Onkaparinga at Clarendon circa 1869
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