Friends of the Yarrowee River

Our River System

The Yarrowee forms part of the Corangamite Catchment system. You can see from the map below that the Yarrowee flows into the Leigh River which then flows into the Barwon River to finally empty into the Bass Strait at Barwon Heads. Improvements in the quality of the river benefits Ballarat residents, but also all the plants, animals and communities downstream and ultimately the Bass Strait. 

The Yarrowee is one of the few continuously flowing rivers west of Melbourne. Its catchment contains several tributaries in the Ballarat urban area including Gnarr Creek, Gong Gong Creek, Little Bendigo Creek and Warrenheip in the north eastern reaches and; Redan Creek, Canadian Creek and Buninyong Creek in the southern reaches. 

The Wadawurrung name for the river is Yaramlok, meaning 'gum tree growing in water.'