Flinders Chase is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 on Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, 213 km southwest of Adelaide. It is a sanctuary for endangered species and home to a few geological phenomena

Geologic formation

A formation or geological formation is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy. A formation consists of a certain number of rock strata that have a comparable lithology, facies or other similar properties...

.

Flinders Chase is composed of a group of protected areas at the western end of Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...

. It includes coastal landscapes, Cape du Couedic

Cape du Couedic

Cape du Couedic is the south-western point of Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia. Cape du Couedic was named in 1803 by French explorer Nicolas Baudin in honour of his friend and famous French sea captain Charles Louis, Chevalier du Couedic de Kergoualer .thumb|300px|left|Cape du...

, Rocky River in the southwest, the Gosse Lands in the northeast and Cape Borda lightstation in the northwest. The park is located 110 km west of Kingscote, the island's largest town.

Sanctuary

Since the creation of the national park in November 1919, Flinders Chase has become a sanctuary for endangered species, some of them introduced from the mainland in the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1940s, 23 additional species were introduced, including Koala

Koala

The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....

s (1923) and Platypus

Platypus

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...

 (1928). Most of these species can still be observed today. Kangaroo

Kangaroo

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...

s, Goanna

Goanna

Goanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.There are around 30 species of goanna, 25 of which are found in Australia...

s and 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...

s are commonly seen in the park.

Geological wonders

The park contains a few geological phenomena. Remarkable Rocks are naturally sculptured formations precariously balanced atop a granite outcrop. They remind visitors of the sculptures of Henry Moore

Henry Moore

Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....

. Admirals Arch, home to playful New Zealand Fur Seal

New Zealand Fur Seal

The Australian fur seal , or New Zealand fur seal or southern fur seal, is a species of fur seal found around the south coast of Australia, the coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and some of the small islands to the south and east of there...

s, displays the ability of the ocean to carve the coastline.

Fire

Lightning strikes on Thursday 6 December 2007 caused 63,433 hectares of Flinders Chase National Park to be burnt, before finally being contained on 16 December.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17876

External links

• Brigadoon- Pictures of the rocks (inactive link)
• Webshots- Pictures of the rocks (inactive link)