Walcott Inlet

{{Short description|Inlet in Western Australia}}

{{Use Australian English|date=May 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{Infobox Australian place|type = other

| name = Walcott Inlet

| state = wa

| image = Walcott Inlet at the mouth of the Isdell River.jpg

| caption = The Isdell River mouth where it enters Walcott Inlet

| lga = Shire of Derby-West Kimberley

| local_map = yes

| zoom = 10

| coordinates = {{coord|16|22|55|S|124|34|55|E|source:enwiki-plaintext-parser|display=title, inline}}

| area =

}}

Walcott Inlet is an estuary located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It flows into Collier Bay, in the Indian Ocean, via a narrow gap known as Yule Entrance.

The inlet was named on 19 June 1865 by Trevarton Charles Sholl after Stephen Walcott, Commissioner of the Government Emigration Board, while on an exploratory expedition from the short-lived Camden Harbor settlement (in Camden Sound).{{cite news | title = Explorations in the Camden Harbour District | date = 26 September 1865 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66012983 | work = The Inquirer & Commercial News | page = 3 | access-date = 26 July 2012}}{{cite news | title = Perth Gazette and W.A. Times | date = 15 September 1865 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3748773 | work = The Perth Gazette and West Australian Times | page = 3 | access-date = 26 July 2012}}

The inlet is {{convert|66|km|abbr=on}} in length, with a width of {{convert|9|km|abbr=on}} and covering an area of {{convert|257|km2|abbr=on}}. It is tide-dominated, and in nearly pristine condition with a catchment area of {{convert|12732|km2|sqmi|0}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.ozcoasts.gov.au/search_data/detail_result.jsp|title=Ozcoasts – Australian online coastal information|year=2013|access-date=7 December 2013|publisher=Australian Government}} The entry to the inlet, known as Yule Entrance,{{cite web|url=https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/ed0b4e39-41eb-4cee-84f6-049a932c5d46/files/ahc-final-assessment-full.pdf|title=West Kimberley Place Report|page=22,26|author=Australian Heritage Council|date=2010–2011}} On the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment website [http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/west-kimberley here]. Date assumed per last date mentioned in publication (2010), and author as per website. is {{convert|9|km|abbr=on}} in length and as little as {{convert|450|m|abbr=on}} wide. The mean tidal range at the mouth is {{convert|6.52|m|abbr=on}}, {{cite book | last1 = Baker | first1 = A. Clive | title = Tidal Power | publisher = P. Peregrinus | year = 1991 | location = London | pages = 203 | isbn = 0863411894}} but can reach {{convert|11|m}}, leading to turbulence, strong tidal flows and whirlpools.

Three large rivers flow into the eastern end of the inlet: Charnley River, Calder River and Isdell River, via Yule Entrance. The Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary and Wilinggin Indigenous Protected Area are located near the inlet.{{cite web |title=Indigenous Protected Areas |url=https://www.klc.org.au/indigenous-protected-areas |publisher=Kimberley Land Council |access-date=16 August 2024}}

The name of Yule Entrance is likely derived from Presbyterian missionary Dr John Sandison Yule,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26263050 |title=The phantom vessel |newspaper=The West Australian |volume=XXVI |issue=7,584 |location=Western Australia |date=19 July 1910 |access-date=1 January 2021 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}} who proposed a mission station at Walcott Inlet following a visit in 1910. A party led by lay missionaries Robert and Frances Wilson spent eight days in August 1911 investigating suitable sites before abandoning the project, due to lack of permanent fresh water.{{cite news |title=The Walcott Inlet Mission |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2636033443/view?sectionId=nla.obj-2728233559 |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=The Outback Battler |date=1 January 1912 |location=Adelaide |page=8}}{{cite web |url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/wa/objects/pdfs/WD0000103%20Guide%20to%20Institutions%20Aboriginal%20People%20WA.pdf |publisher=Find & Connect|title=Guide to Institutions Attended by Aboriginal People in Western Australia|author=State Solicitor's Office (Western Australia)|date=November 2005|pages=113,136|access-date=1 January 2021}}{{cite web |title=Port George IV Mission |url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/entity/port-george-iv-mission/ |website=Find & Connect |publisher=Find & Connect Web Resource Project |access-date=16 August 2024 |year=2011}}