Where is the Coorong?

The Coorong is located 1 hour and 25 minutes South of Adelaide, in south-eastern South Australia, in the area known as the Limestone Coast.

It is a long, shallow, lagoon at the end of the River Murray, separated from the Southern Ocean by the sand dunes of the Younghusband Peninsula and stretching for more than 100 kilometres. Parnka Point, the narrowest point along the Coorong, divides the ‘Coorong North Lagoon’ and the ‘Coorong South Lagoon’.

Located at the end of Australia’s largest river system, the Coorong is an important part of the Murray-Darling Basin. It relies on flows from the River Murray, Southern Ocean as well as an open Murray Mouth to create healthy habitats for thriving wildlife.

The Coorong National Park was established in a section of the Coorong in 1966 to protect this precious environment.

Historically, freshwater from the South-East of South Australia also played an important role in maintaining salinity levels in the Southern Lagoon. For many decades drainage schemes have redirected this water to the sea so the land could be used for agriculture, causing salinity in the Southern Lagoon to rise. Work is underway to restore flows from the South East to the Coorong.