The Site, an inland terminal delta in the Murray-Darling Basin, supports watercourses and floodplain marshlands, shrublands and woodlands.  The wetlands contain one of the largest stands of seasonally inundated grass meadows, including nationally threatened water couch (Paspalum distichum) and marsh club-rush (Bolboschoenus fluviatilis). Since flooding in the Site is not always synchronous with other Murray-Darling Basin wetlands, the Site provides habitat for wetland-dependent birds when other major wetlands are dry. Around 50 waterbird species are likely to breed within the Site, including the endangered Australian painted snipe (Rostratula australis). The Gwydir wetlands, including the Site, are part of the traditional land of the Kamilaroi people and hold current and historical cultural importance for the Traditional Owners.