Little Para River

Infobox River
river_name = Little Para River


caption = Little Para River, Carisbrooke reserve, Salisbury Park
origin = near Lower Hermitage
mouth = Globe Derby Park
basin_countries =
length =
elevation =
discharge = 3590 m⁶/year
watershed =

The Little Para River is a seasonal creek running across the Adelaide plains, whose catchment fills reservoirs that supply some of the water needs of Adelaide’s northern suburbs. It runs from its source near Lower Hermitage in the Mount Lofty Ranges, flows north westerly to the Little Para Reservoir and then westerly to the Barker Inlet of the Gulf Saint Vincent at Globe Derby Park. The lower portion of the river is heavily impacted by human activity and stormwater runoff but the upper reaches have a good range of biodiversity. [cite web |url= http://www.deh.gov.au/water/rivers/nrhp/health/mt-lofty-ranges.html |title= River Health in the Mount Lofty Ranges |accessdate =2006-09-03 | publisher =Department of Environment and Heritage, South Australian Government | id= ISBN 0-642-54981-8 | year = 2003|last = Goonan |first = Peter |coauthors = Madden Chris, McEvoy Paul, Taylor Daria ]

The river attracted John Harvey to form his settlement at Salisbury in 1847 and was crucial to the development of the citrus industry from 1852. In the 1960s the City of Salisbury began acquiring land for public space, and a belt of parklands with biking and walking trails now borders the river. [cite web | url= http://cweb.salisbury.sa.gov.au/manifest/servlet/page?pg=10450&stypen=html |title =Little Para Trails |publisher =City of Salisbury, South Australia |accessdate =2006-09-03] The river’s name derives from the Kaurna word "Pari" which roughly translates as "a stream of flowing water".

As the river flows down from the Adelaide Hills over the para fault escarpment, it has formed a large alluvial fan on which Salisbury is built. The river is narrow and winding, formerly flooded in heavy rain and rarely reaches its sea outlet. Over time the river has been widened and levees added to reduce this flooding. [cite book |title=Salisbury South Australia, a history of town and district |last=Lewis |first=H. John |pages=p.241 |publisher=Investigator Press |location=Hawthorndene, South Australia |year=1980 |isbn=0-85864-049-X] In the 1800s lack consistent flow in the river, and the absence of an organised water supply system, lead to the digging of wells. The Little Para refreshes the well's water, mostly held in clay, sand and gravel layers up to convert|200|ft|m|0 deep. The Little Para reservoir is built in the path of the river for water storage and flood mitigation. As the river's catchment is insufficient to fill the reservoir, it is mainly used to store water pumped from the River Murray. Periodically water is released from the reservoir into the river, enabling refreshing of ground water. [cite book |title=Salisbury South Australia, a history of town and district |last=Lewis |first=H. John |pages=pp.248-249 |publisher=Investigator Press |location=Hawthorndene, South Australia |year=1980 |isbn=0-85864-049-X]

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