Dry Creek is a mostly industrial suburb north of Adelaide, containing significant wetlands and a substantial area formerly devoted to salt crystallisation pans, managed by Ridley Corporation, which plans to redevelop the site for housing.
It is named for the Dry Creek, a stream and drain which flows through the suburb and into Swan Alley, a tidal distributory of Barker Inlet, Gulf St Vincent.
It was the site of the soapworks of W. H. Burford & Son from 1923 (adjacent to the Dry Creek railway station, and formerly used for smelting ore from Broken Hill) and a pioneering "garden suburb" for its employees, designed by W. J. Earle (who also laid out Cadbury's model town at Claremont, Tasmania). The name Burford Gardens has vanished, but its streets remain: Flame Avenue, Gum Avenue, Wattle Avenue, Grevillea Avenue and Bushwood Avenue.
The buildings of the former Dry Creek explosives depot, now State heritage-listed, are on Magazine Road between the Salisbury Highway South Road Connector and the salt pans.
Wetlands
The Dry Creek wetlands are composed of many separate sections running from the eastern edge of the suburb to the sea outlet of Dry Creek. They form part of the storm water management system for the City of Salisbury and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and are connected to numerous drains that run across the Adelaide Plains including the eponymous Dry Creek, as well as being the outflow point for storm water pipes. Some of the wetlands have been extensively landscaped but have only limited public access.
The wetlands form a fauna and flora haven with one of the southern most mangrove habitats in the world, extensive reed and samphire beds and a large bird and fish population. They discharge via North Arm creek into the Barker Inlet of Gulf St Vincent. The wetlands are part of the Gulf St Vincent Important Bird Area.[not in citation given]