Carnarvon Gorge
Encyclopedia
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
(Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), 593 km northwest of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, and six hundred metres deep at the mouth. It is the most visited feature within Carnarvon National Park
Carnarvon National Park
Carnarvon National Park is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in Central Queensland , 593 km northwest of Brisbane...
due to the diversity of experiences it contains and the ease with which it can be accessed. The closest towns are Injune
Injune, Queensland
Injune is a small town in western Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the Carnarvon Highway, north of the regional centre of Roma. A railway connected Injune with Roma from 1920 until 1966...
and Rolleston
Rolleston, Queensland
Rolleston is a small town on the Comet River in Central Queensland. It is located in the Central Highlands Regional Council local government area, west of Gladstone and northwest of Brisbane. Springsure, the nearest town lies south-east. Rolleston lies on the junction of the Carnarvon, Gregory...
.
History
Some researchers have suggested that Aboriginal peopleIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
did not live in the gorge permanently, due to defensive concerns and lack of food resources, whilst others suggest that permanent occupation was not allowed due to the gorge being considered sacred. The dreamtime
Dreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
stories tell a tale of the Rainbow Serpent
Rainbow Serpent
The Rainbow Serpent is a common motif in the art and mythology of Aboriginal Australia. It is named for the snake-like meandering of water across a landscape and the colour spectrum caused when sunlight strikes water at an appropriate angle relative to the observer.The Rainbow Serpent is seen as...
which made the gorges, and resides in their permanent waterholes to this day.
Ludwig Leichhardt
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
was the first European explorer to pass nearby and make note of the ranges, during his expedition to Port Essington in 1844. Two years later, Thomas Mitchell passed to the west of Carnarvon Gorge. It was Mitchell who named the Carnarvon Range
Carnarvon Range
The Carnarvon Range is a mountain range in Central Queensland, Australia. It is a plateau section of the Great Dividing Range. The Carnarvon Range is 160 km in length. It was first explored by Ludwig Leichhardt but named by Thomas Mitchell after the 4th Earl of Carnarvon.North eastern parts of...
after Caernarfon in Wales. The reports of pastureland and good water carried back to the colonies brought settlers to the area, and began a period of bloody conflict between settlers and Aboriginals
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
By the late 1870s the newcomers had prevailed. Local Aboriginals
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
sought refuge on properties run by those sympathetic to their plight. Subsequent years would see many forcibly removed from their homelands and transferred to government and church run reserves and missions. The latter process of removal is considered by some to have been, culturally, more destructive than the direct conflict that preceded it.
The farming of cattle and growing of crops remains a vibrant industry around Carnarvon Gorge but, since 1932 when it was gazetted as a National Park, such activities have no longer been allowed in the gorge itself. In 1974, the Ka Ka Mundi area which had been heavily grazed for about a century, also became part of the park. In place of the grazing of cattle, a tourism industry has grown. Over 65,000 visitors per annum make the trek to Carnarvon Gorge, in a pattern of visitation that echoes that of the original Aboriginal groups - no permanent occupation, but regular pilgrimage to a widely recognised place of significance.
Features
Tracks, trails, and sites
There is a ten kilometre (10 km) track leading into Carnarvon Gorge, with diversions into specific sites such as the Art Gallery, Big Bend, Wards Canyon, Cathedral Cave, the Amphitheatre and the Moss Garden. In the mouth of Carnarvon Gorge, there are another five sites to visit; Boolimba Bluff, the Nature Trail, the Rockpool, Mickey Creek Gorge and Balloon Cave. Several remote tracks exist for experienced walkers; the Ranch, the Devil's Signpost, and Battleship Spur.Rocks and landscapes
Situated within the Central Queensland Sandstone Belt, and separating the Consuelo Tableland and the Great Dividing RangeGreat Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
, Carnarvon Gorge's landscapes have largely been shaped by water erosion. Over the last twenty seven million years Carnarvon Creek, which winds for over 30 kilometres (18.6 mi), has carved down through six hundred metres of stone, exposing rocks from three significant phases of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
's geological history including two sedimentary basins, the Bowen
Bowen Basin
The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal...
and the Surat
Surat Basin
The Surat Basin is a part of the Great Artesian Basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a large part of northern New South Wales, the remainder is in Queensland. It comprises Jurassic through to Cretaceous...
, and the Buckland Volcanic Province. The youngest rocks in the area are the igneous basalt rocks of the Buckland volcanic Province which were laid down between 35-27 million years ago to depths of up to 300 metres. The basalt layer is present on top of the high country either side of the Gorge where it protects the landscape from erosion and generates significantly different soils to those derived from the lower sedimentary rocks. Boulders eroded from the basalt layer dominate the Gorge's waterways due to their ability to resist water erosion better than the sedimentary rocks they once overlaid.
The most visible rocks in the Gorge belong to the Surat Basin
Surat Basin
The Surat Basin is a part of the Great Artesian Basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a large part of northern New South Wales, the remainder is in Queensland. It comprises Jurassic through to Cretaceous...
, which holds most of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
's gas and oil and significant amounts of groundwater. The Surat Basin
Surat Basin
The Surat Basin is a part of the Great Artesian Basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a large part of northern New South Wales, the remainder is in Queensland. It comprises Jurassic through to Cretaceous...
forms part of the Great Artesian Basin
Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of , with temperatures measured ranging from 30°C to 100°C...
, and generates numerous springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
within the Gorge. The oldest component in the Surat Basin
Surat Basin
The Surat Basin is a part of the Great Artesian Basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a large part of northern New South Wales, the remainder is in Queensland. It comprises Jurassic through to Cretaceous...
is the porous Precipice Sandstone, which forms the Gorge's spectacular cliffs. The Precipice Sandstone is one of the primary intake beds for the Great Artesian Basin
Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of , with temperatures measured ranging from 30°C to 100°C...
, giving the area where it lies exposed significance as a replenishment zone.
Below the Precipice Sandstone, the Gorge's floor is formed by the uppermost layer of the Bowen Basin
Bowen Basin
The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal...
, the Moolayember Formation. The impermeability of this layer allows the water generated by Carnarvon Gorge's springs to remain close to, or above, the surface - a significant interplay in terms of the availability of water within the Gorge's ecosystems. Carnarvon Creek, whose flow has only been known to stop twice since records commenced, is an incredibly reliable source of water. In times of drought, it turns the Gorge into an oasis which has supported forms of life long since passed from the semi-arid ecosystems surrounding it.
Each of the rock strata exposed in the Gorge erodes and weathers according to its own characteristics, and the variety of soil types and landforms generated goes a long way towards explainng why Carnarvon Gorge supports such a diversity of life.
Climate
Carnarvon Gorge's climate is considerably different to that experienced in the flatter terrain surrounding it. Average rainfall in the Gorge is higher at 1,000 millimetres per annum and temperatures on the Gorge floor are more moderate. The lowest temperature recorded in the Gorge is -2°C, whereas temperatures lower than -5°C are experienced within 5 kilometres of its mouth. Average July temperature range is 6.3°C – 20.9°C, and average January temperature range is 20.5°C – 35.5°C. Statistically, the wettest month is February and the driest is August.These figures should always be considered in the context of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's notoriously unpredictable climate. For example, between October 2007 and February 2008, Carnarvon Gorge received 1,400 millimetres of rainfall; 140% of its annual average.
Flora
Three broad vegetation types are present in Carnarvon Gorge; eucalypt and angophora dominated woodland to open woodland; mixed eucalypt, acacia, white cypress pine or turpentine woodlands and/or open forests on sandstone slopes, scarps, ridges and residuals; cleared and/or regrowth areas. Four regional ecosystems listed as of concern are easily encountered by visitors to Carnarvon Gorge: Queensland blue gum woodland on alluvial plains; silver-leaved ironbark woodland on alluvial plains; Queensland blue gum, river she-oak fringng woodland on alluvial plains; and tall open forest in sheltered gorges and moist habitats.Two plant species, in particular, are considered Carnarvon Gorge icons; the cycad Macrozamia moorei
Macrozamia moorei
Macrozamia moorei is a cycad in the family Zamiaceae, native to Queensland .The species was described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1881, naming it after Charles Moore , director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.-Description:...
(no common name) and the Carnarvon fan palm (Livistona
Livistona
Livistona is a genus of 36 species of palms , native to southern and southeastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa...
nitida). Macrozamia moorei is closely associated with the Tertiary basalt flows of the Buckland Volcanic Province, and is endemic to Central Queensland. Livistona nitida is endemic to the springs and waterways of the Dawson River catchment, and Carnarvon Gorge is considered its stronghold.
Several plants occur in disjunct populations, or approach the limits of their distribution, within Carnarvon Gorge such as the isolated colony of king ferns (Angiopteris evecta
Angiopteris evecta
Angiopteris evecta, commonly known as the Giant Fern, is a rare plant occurring in eastern and northern Australia. Also found growing in nearby islands such as New Guinea and various places in Polynesia and Melanesia. Listed as endangered by extinction in New South Wales, where it has been recorded...
) found in Wards Canyon and the stately Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna, known as the Sydney Blue Gum, is a large Australian hardwood tree common along the New South Wales seaboard and into Queensland, reaching about 65 metres in height...
) found in the Gorge's wettest habitats.
Mammals
Carnarvon Gorge has a rich mammalian fauna including Australia's two monotremes, the platypusPlatypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
(Ornithorhyncus anatinus) and the echidna
Echidna
Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs...
(Tachyglossus aculeatus). Macropod species include the eastern grey kangaroo
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is a marsupial found in southern and eastern Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Forester Kangaroo...
(Macropus giganteus), the pretty-faced wallaby (Macropus parryi), the swamp wallaby
Swamp Wallaby
The Swamp Wallaby is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the Black Wallaby, with other names including Black-tailed Wallaby, Fern Wallaby, Black Pademelon, Stinker , and Black Stinker...
(Wallabia bicolor), the wallaroo or euro
Wallaroo
A Wallaroo is any of three closely related species of moderately large macropod, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The name "wallaroo" is a portmanteau of wallaby and kangaroo. The term is not generally used by Australians...
(Macropus robustus), the red-necked wallaby
Red-necked Wallaby
The Red-necked Wallaby is a medium-sized marsupial macropod, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania.- Description :...
, (Macropus rufogriseus), and the rufous bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens).
Five of Australia's six species of glider occur here; the greater glider
Greater Glider
The Greater Glider is a small gliding marsupial found in Australia. It is not closely related to the Petaurus group of gliding marsupials but instead to the Lemur-like Ringtail Possum , with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae.The Greater Glider is nocturnal and is a solitary herbivore...
(Petauroides volans), the yellow-bellied glider
Yellow-bellied Glider
The Yellow-bellied Glider is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in a narrow range of native eucalypt forests down eastern Australia, reaching from northern Queensland to Victoria.-Habitat:...
(Petaurus australis), the squirrel glider
Squirrel Glider
The Squirrel Glider is a nocturnal gliding possum, one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus Petaurus.-Habitat:...
(Petaurus norfolcensis), the sugar glider
Sugar Glider
The sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia and is also native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.- Habitat :Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of...
(Petaurus breviceps), and the feathertail glider
Feathertail Glider
The Feathertail Glider , also known as the Pygmy Gliding Possum, Pygmy Glider, Pygmy Phalanger, Flying Phalanger and Flying Mouse, is the world's smallest gliding possum and is named for its long feather-shaped tail. Although only the size of a very small mouse , it can leap and glide up to 25 metres...
(Acrobates pygmaeus). Commercial spotlighting tours that target the Gorge's gliders are conducted within the Park.
Birds
Weebill
The Weebill is Australia's smallest bird at approximately 9 cm long. It is an olive-yellow songbird with a grey bill, brown wings, pale yellow eyes and grey feet. Its tail feathers are brown with a black bar and white spot on the tip of all inner webs but the central pairs. The sexes are...
(Smicrornis brevirostris) to the wedge-tailed eagle
Wedge-tailed Eagle
The Wedge-tailed Eagle , sometimes known as the Eaglehawk in its native range, is the largest bird of prey in Australia, but it is also found in southern New Guinea. It has long, fairly broad wings, fully feathered legs, and an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail...
(Aquila audax). Some of the Gorge's birds have become habituated to humans, due to hand-feeding which is against Park regulations. This situation is of concern to Park rangers as it allows opportunistic species, such as the laughing kookaburra
Laughing Kookaburra
The Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, is a carnivorous bird in the kingfisher family Halcyonidae. Native to eastern Australia, it has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania and Western Australia. Male and female adults are similar in plumage, which is predominantly brown and...
(Dacelo novaeguineae) and the pied currawong
Pied Currawong
The Pied Currawong is a medium-sized black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie of the family Artamidae. Six subspecies are recognised...
(Strepera graculina), to develop population sizes that are abnormally large. When visitation (and therefore hand-feeding) tapers off over the summer low tourism season the abnormal populations place abnormal pressure on the species' natural food sources which can include the young of other bird species.
Australian bustards
Australian Bustard
The Australian Bustard, Ardeotis australis, is a large ground bird of grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is also commonly referred to in Central Australia as the Bush Turkey, particularly by Aboriginal people.The male is up to ...
(Ardeotis australis) are frequently seen in farmland on approach to the Gorge, along with brolga
Brolga
The Brolga , formerly known as the "Native Companion", is a bird in the crane family. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The Brolga is a common gregarious wetland bird species in...
s if the weather has been wet. Communally breeding birds, such as the white-winged chough
White-winged Chough
The White-winged Chough is one of only two surviving members of the Australian mud-nest builders family, Corcoracidae, and is the only member of the genus Corcorax...
, the laughing kookaburra
Laughing Kookaburra
The Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, is a carnivorous bird in the kingfisher family Halcyonidae. Native to eastern Australia, it has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania and Western Australia. Male and female adults are similar in plumage, which is predominantly brown and...
(Dacelo novaeguineae), and the Apostlebird
Apostlebird
The Apostlebird , also known as the Grey Jumper, is a quick-moving, gray or black bird about 13 inches long. It is a native to Australia where it roams woodlands, eating insects and seeds at, or near, ground level...
(Struthidea cinerea), are a feature of the ecosystems around the entrance to Carnarvon Gorge.
Peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
s (Falco peregrinus) and wedge-tailed eagle
Wedge-tailed Eagle
The Wedge-tailed Eagle , sometimes known as the Eaglehawk in its native range, is the largest bird of prey in Australia, but it is also found in southern New Guinea. It has long, fairly broad wings, fully feathered legs, and an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail...
s patrol the cliffs further into the Gorge whilst, below, numerous parrots and honeyeaters forage amongst the eucalypt canopy. Closer to ground level, visitors are likely to enounter the Australian raven
Australian Raven
The Australian Raven is the largest Australian member of the genus Corvus and one of three Australian species commonly known as ravens. It is a more slender bird than the Common Raven of the Northern Hemisphere but is otherwise similar...
(Corvus coronoides) and the pied currawong
Pied Currawong
The Pied Currawong is a medium-sized black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie of the family Artamidae. Six subspecies are recognised...
(Strepera graculina) anywhere they stop to eat. Along the walking tracks many smaller species will be present in the ground cover and understory including red-browed finches
Red-browed Finch
The Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species is also been introduced to French Polynesia for breeding. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savanna habitats...
(Neochmia temporalis), white-browed scrubwrens
White-browed Scrubwren
The White-browed Scrubwren is a passerine bird found in coastal areas of Australia. Placed in the family Pardalotidae in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this has met with opposition and indeed is now known to be wrong; they rather belong to the independent family Acanthizidae.It is insectivorous and...
(Sericornis frontalis), and several species of thornbill.
Reptiles and amphibians
Over 90 species of reptile and 22 species of frog are known to inhabit the National Park. The most commonly encountered snakes in the Gorge are the Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii), the Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulataDendrelaphis punctulata
The common tree snake Dendrelaphis punctulata is a slender, large-eyed, non-venomous, diurnal snake of many parts of Australia, especially in the northern and eastern coastal areas, and into Papua New Guinea. , This common snake is harmless, readily recognised as it is an agile snake with a very...
) and the Carpet Python (Morelia spilota). The largest lizards in the Gorge are the Lace Monitor (Varanus varius) and the Sand Monitor (Varanus gouldii). Of the wide variety of skinks, the largest is the Major Skink (Egernia major) which occurs in a disjunct population.
The most frequently encountered of the Gorge's frogs are the Tusked Frog (Adelotus brevis), the Striped Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes peronii), and the Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus). The introduced Cane Toad is currently implicated in the local disappearance of the Northern Quoll (Dasyurus Hallucatus). Freshwater turtles such as Kreffts River Turtle (Emydura
Emydura
The Australian short-necked turtles, Emydura, are a genus of turtles in the family Chelidae. It was paraphyletic with Elseya. Consequently, it was split into two genera Myuchelys and Elseya by Thomson & Georges, 2009....
krefftii) and the Saw-shelled Turtle (Elseya
Elseya
The Australian Snapping Turtles, Elseya Gray 1867, are a large genus of side-necked turtles in the family Chelidae found in river systems in northern and north eastern Australia and throughout the river systems of New Guinea...
latisternum) are in strong numbers in Carnarvon Creek, commonly seen sunning themselves on rocks and logs during the middle of the day.
Invertebrates
The National Park's invertebrate species are extremely diverse. Several species of insect have their entire distribution within the Park's boundaries, and are joined in this category by at least four species of land snail. Butterflies are a feature of Carnarvon Gorge's fauna. Large aggregations of Common Crow (Euploea coreEuploea core
The Common Crow is a common butterfly found in South Asia. In India it is also sometimes referred to as the Common Indian Crow, and in Australia as the Australian Crow. It belongs to the Crows and Tigers subfamily of the Nymphalidae .The Common Crow is the most common representative of its genus...
) butterflies can occur in Carnarvon's cool, moist side gorges when the animals gather to overwinter.
Carnarvon Creek is also home to large numbers of invertebrates, many of which are the larval stages of winged insects such as dragonflies. Visitors to Wards Canyon have the opportunity to observe these creatures easily in the clear, shallow, spring-fed stream.