Windjana Gorge National Park

Windjana Gorge National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 1855 km northeast of Perth and 355 km east of Broome. It is open during the dry season only, usually April to November (dates vary according to conditions).

Windjana Gorge National Park
Western Australia
View from base of gorge
Windjana Gorge National Park is located in Western Australia
Windjana Gorge National Park
Windjana Gorge National Park
Map
Nearest town or cityDerby
Coordinates17°25′42″S 124°58′35″E / 17.42833°S 124.97639°E / -17.42833; 124.97639
Established1971
Area20.5 km2 (7.9 sq mi)[1]
Managing authoritiesDepartment of Environment and Conservation
WebsiteWindjana Gorge National Park
See alsoList of protected areas of
Western Australia

The gorge has been carved by the Lennard River and is over 3 km long and about 100 m wide with walls to a height of 30 m in places. The rocks are part of the Napier Range, an ancient Devonian reef system that is over 375 million years old.[2][3] The rocks are the same as the ones found at Tunnel Creek and Geikie Gorge.[4]

The river flows freely through the gorge during the wet season but during the dry season (between May and September) it becomes a series of pools surrounded by trees and shrubs. Some of the vegetation found along the river banks include paperbarks, cadjebuts, native fig trees and leichhardt trees.[5]

It is part of the Balili (Devonian Reef) Conservation Park.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Department of Environment and Conservation 2009–2010 Annual Report". Annual Report. Department of Environment and Conservation: 48. 2010. ISSN 1835-114X. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Australia's North West - National Park". 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  3. ^ 1988 research into the gorge environment -"Research on a geological last frontier". The Canberra Times. Vol. 62, no. 19, 234. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 June 1988. p. 20. Retrieved 6 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Playford, Phillip E. (Phillip Elliott); Geological Survey of Western Australia; National Parks Authority of Western Australia; Playford, Phillip (1984), Geology of Windjana Gorge, Geikie Gorge and Tunnel Creek National Parks, National Parks Authority, retrieved 6 December 2018
  5. ^ "Windjana Gorge Tours". 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2010.