The Murray Marine Park connects the Murray River, running from New South Wales through Victoria and South Australia, to the deep ocean. The Murray River carries sediments rich with nutrients which are eventually deposited on the seafloor. With seasonal changes in water currents, the nutrients are brought to the surface, boosting marine life.

Murray Marine Park spans an extensive area across the Lacepede Shelf, continental slope and deeper water ecosystems that extend from South Australia to Tasmania. The marine park contains the Murray Canyon, which is considered one of the most spectacular geological formations on the Australian continental margin. It stretches more than 150 kilometres and descends to 4600 metres below sea level, generating strong upwellings and supporting highly productive and biodiverse ecosystems. Many seabirds can be seen foraging within Murray Marine Park, and blue whales have also been sighted on several occasions.

The park lies south and east of Kangaroo Island, off the South Australian coast, and stretches to the limit of Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone more than 400 kilometres out to sea. It covers 25,803 square kilometres, and has National Park, Special Purpose and Multiple Use zones. – Parks Australia

Murray ranges from 24 to 5,729 metres depth, with an average depth of 3,887 metres. The majority of the Park (68%) falls within the abyssal zone (4,000-6,000 metres) [view on map]. The mapped areas of the seafloor are dominated by Plane (45%) and Slope (23%) morphological features [view on map].

Seafloor imagery (Squidle+) exists for this Park but has not yet been annotated.

Read more about the Murray State of Knowledge (Parks Australia).