Helena River

The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River in Western Australia. The river rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir, where it is dammed. It then flows west until it reaches the Darling Scarp.It passes through the western edge of the Darling Scarp between Gooseberry Hill, and Greenmount Hill before joining the Swan River at the southern edge of the historic town, now suburb, of Guildford.Catchment areaMany of the tributaries of the Helena River are unnamed due to their seasonality and size. However, on the northern side of the catchment Nyaania Creek and on the southern side Piesse Brook are significant in their moving through built up areas which makes them susceptible to urban environment issues.Upper Helena catchment (i.e. above Mundaring Weir) has on the north side of Lake C.Y. O'Connor (formerly the Helena River Reservoir) a range of named creeks that occur in State Forest no 71 and 13: Manns GullyChinaman GullyJones GullyMichael GullyChauncy GullyMiddle BrookHelena BrookHancock BrookEmu BrookWarin BrookEnvironmentIn the higher ground the Helena River passes mainly through State Forest or reserve. This has been beneficial for some of the catchment area, as it has been an important buffer between the urban settlements in the Mundaring and Kalamunda areas. The flora of the Helena valley has been recognised as being of importance because of the relative richness.