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The Fitzgerald River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Surveyor General John Septimus Roe disvovered and named the river during expeditions in the area in 1848 after the governor of Western Australia of the day, Charles Fitzgerald. [3] The river rises near the Lake Magenta Nature Reserve about 300m above sea level then flows in a southerly direction through farmland until it reaches the Fitzgerald River National Park. The headwaters are in a salt lake area where much of the land has been cleared for agricultural purposes, it is estimated that 40% of the catchment has been cleared. Once the river enters the National Park it is flowing through unspoilt bush and has cut magnificent gorges into the plateau of spongolite. The river is saline, but was probably saline before land clearing, given that it rises in an area of slat lakes and spongelite would release salts as it is weathered. The river's flow is variable being neglible in dry years, very low under normal conditions but able to flow strongly after substantial rainfall in the area.
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