Wallaman Falls

Infobox Waterfall
name = Wallaman Falls

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caption = Wallaman Falls, Girringun National Park, Queensland
location = Australia
type = Plunge
height = 340 m
height_longest = 340 m
number_drops = 1

The Wallaman Falls are notable for their single-drop of 268 metres, which is Australia's highest permanent waterfall. [ [http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/parks_and_forests/find_a_park_or_forest/wallaman_falls_girringun_national_park/ Wallaman Falls, Girringun National Park, Queensland Parks and Widelife Services] ] With the addition of additional related minor drops the overall height of the falls is approximately 340 metres. The pool at the end of the waterfall is 20 metres deep.

Formation

The waterfall is formed by a tributary of the Herbert River, Stony Creek, which plunges over an escarpment in the Seaview Range. The geological history of the formation may be traced back some 50 million years, when the uplift of the continental margin in this region resulted in the ancestral Herbert River to change its course from westwards to eastwards. As a result it began to cut through the raised igneous substrata en-route to its outflow in the Coral Sea. The gorge produced by this erosive action gradually retreated inland along the Herbert River's course, and in the process eventually causing tributaries such as Stony Creek to be suspended, forming the waterfall.

See also

List of waterfalls

References

External links

* [http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park/index.cgi?noback=1&parkid=131 Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, Wallaman Falls]
* [http://www.world-waterfalls.com/waterfall.php?num=111 World Waterfalls site - Wallaman Falls]
* [http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/about/environs/lumholtz.html Australian government page about Lumholtz National Park]