Lesson goals 

• Understand the continuity, zonation and scale of operation of the Minnamurra River system.

Lesson description

Students investigate the scale of operation across the Minnamurra River system, examining the river zonation from the source to sea, variety of land-forms , ecosystems and natural features across the catchment, human and natural processes which have shaped the land cover and application of mapping skills to develop elevation profiles of the landscape.

Estimated time

• 2 lessons (~100 minutes)

Supporting materials

• Lesson  1 worksheet - Minnamurra River; Scale of operation

• Lesson 1 spreadsheet - Elevation Profiles

Outcomes

Content

• Examines places, environments and natural and human phenomena, for their characteristics, spatial patterns, interactions and changes over time.

• Explains geographical processes and influences, at a range of scales, that form and transform places and environments.

Geographic Skills and Tools

• Analyses and synthesises relevant geographical information from a variety of sources. 

• Applies geographical inquiry skills and tools, including spatial technologies, fieldwork, and ethical practices, to investigate places and environments.

Focus Area: Earth's natural systems

• Characteristics of Earth's natural systems and factors affecting their functioning.

Minnamurra River flows from Booderee National Park, high on the Illawarra Escarpment and west of Jamberoo, to the ocean just north of Kiama. As it flows as a freshwater stream, the surrounding ecosystems changes from highland heath and swamps, temperate rainforest, moving through dairy farms before transitioning to a tidal estuary close to the coastline. 

The system has been formed, and continues to be shaped by natural processes, cycles and circulations which impact the atmospheric, hydrological, geomorphic and ecological systems of the river.