Wollemi National Park

Infobox_protected_area | name = Wollemi National Park
iucn_category = Ib


caption =
locator_x = 240
locator_y = 170
location = New South Wales, Australia
nearest_city = Sydney
lat_degrees = 32
lat_minutes = 52
lat_seconds = 26
lat_direction = S
long_degrees = 150
long_minutes = 29
long_seconds = 32
long_direction = E
area = 4 886.2 km²
established = 1979
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = National Parks and Wildlife Service

Wollemi National Park is the second largest national park in New South Wales, and contains most of the largest wilderness area, the Wollemi Wilderness. It lies 129 kilometres northwest of Sydney, and forms part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

It contains the only known wild specimens of the Wollemi Pine ("Wollemia nobilis"), a species thought to have become extinct approximately thirty million years ago, but discovered alive in three small stands in 1994.

Geology

This park is located on the western edge of the Sydney Basin. It sits on four strata of sedimentary rock; the Narrabeen and Hawkesbury sandstone and shale, the Illawarra and Singleton Permian coal measures and the Wianamatta shales. The strata at this area of the Sydney Basin have an upwards tilt to the north-west. Throughout most of the park the Hawkesbury and Wianamatta series have been eroded away exposing the Narrabeen group. The landscape of the park is dominated by deep valleys, canyons, cliffs and waterfalls, formed by the weathering of the sandstone and claystone the Narrabeen group consists of. The parts of the park that lie on the Narrabeen and Hawkesbury sandstones generally have shallow soil with low nutrient levels while areas that lie on the Wianamatta shale usually have deeper and more nutrient rich soils allowing for a greater diversity of plant life. The coal measures are visible beneath cliff lines along river valleys. This layer is generally rich in nutrients and weathers to form deep clay loams. Tertiary basalt is common in the north west of the park. Basaltic peaks include Mount Coriaday, Mount Monundilla and Mount Coricudgy, the highest peak in the northern Blue Mountains. In some location the basalt in the core of extinct volcanos has eroded faster than the surrounding sandstone.

The Wollemi National Park is key in maintaining the quality of many tributary rivers to the Hawkesbury River and Goulburn-Hunter River catchments. The national park incorporates rivers such as the Wolgan River, Colo River and Capertee River which arise from outside the park. The Colo River is regarded as the last unpolluted river in New South Wales because the majority of it flows through the Wollemi National Park.

Biology and ecology

Eucalypt dominated open forests comprise 90% of Wollemi National Park, with over 70 species of Eucalypt recorded. The remaining 10% of the National Park comprises rainforest, heath and grassland.

The variety of habitats within Wollemi National Park allow for large diversity in animals. Fifty-eight reptile species, thirty-eight frog species, two hundred and thirty-five bird species and forty-six mammal species have been recorded in the park.

As well as the Wollemi pine, the park contains populations of the rare "Banksia conferta subsp. penicillata", only described in 1981.

Aboriginal Sites

There are many aboriginal sites within the park including cave paintings, axe grinding grooves and rock carvings. In 2003 the discovery of Eagle's Reach cave was publicly announced. This site was found by bushwalkers in 1995 but remained unknown to the wider community until a team from the Australian Museum reached the cave in May 2003.The art within this small cave is estimated to be up to 4,000 years old and it consists of up to a dozen layers of imagery depicting a wide variety of motifs rendered in ochre and charcoal. The team who recorded this site counted over 200 separate images, mainly of animals and birds but also stencils of hands, axes and a boomerang.

It is a very significant site and the remote location is being kept secret for its own protection.

Activities

* Canyoning
* Hiking
* Canoeing
* Camping
* Abseiling
* Liloing

Historical Places

* Wolgan Valley
* Newnes
* Newnes Glow Worm Tunnel
* Zig Zag Railway
* Oil shale Mining
* Glen Davis

References

ee also

* Protected areas of New South Wales (Australia)
* [http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/parks.nsf/parkContent/N0051?OpenDocument&ParkKey=N0051&Type=Xo National Parks and Wildlife Service of NSW Wollemi information page]