The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European settlement of South Australia in 1836, when Colonel Light selected the site to use as a port. Before colonisation, the Port River region and the estuary area were known as Yerta Bulti (or Yertabulti) by the Kaurna people, and used extensively as a source of food and plant materials to fashion artefacts used in daily life. The Port River dolphins are a popular tourist attraction. Geography The Port River is the western branch of the largest tidal estuary on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent. The whole estuarine area, sometimes called the Port River estuary, includes Barker Inlet, Torrens Island, Garden Island, and to a greater or lesser extent touches the suburbs of St Kilda, Bolivar, Dry Creek, Port Adelaide, New Port, and (up the eastern flank of the Lefevre Peninsula), Taperoo, Osborne and Outer Harbor. Sections of the river bank are variously developed for shipping, industrial and increasingly, residential use. The rich ecosystem of the river, which includes mangroves, seagrass, waterbirds, and abundant marine life, has been historically impacted by industrialisation and associated pollution. In the 21st century, reductions in pollution loads have allowed for environmental recovery aided by several restoration programs. The estuary includes several overlapping protected areas, including the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary and the Gulf St Vincent Important Bird Area, a number of ships' graveyards and other places of heritage interest. There are three road bridges and two railway bridges over the river. Its southern end abuts the West Lakes recreational body of water. Naming Before British colonisation of South Australia, the Kaurna people called the Port River region and estuary Yerta Bulti (also spelt Yertabulti), meaning "land of sleep or death", while the Port Adelaide location was known as Yartapuulti. The river is now officially known as the Port Adelaide River, while the name Port River is described in official sources as "a local variant." History Pre-colonial Prior to the 1836 British colonisation of South Australia, the river was a shallow and narrow tidal creek winding between mangrove swamps. At this time, it was inhabited by the Kaurna people, who occupied the land from Cape Jervis in the south up the western