Mount Kaputar National Park
Encyclopedia
Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park
in Australia
, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar
, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located 50 km (31 mi) east of Narrabri and 570 km (354 mi) northwest of Sydney
. Millions of years of erosion
have since carved the volcanic region into the lava terrace
s, volcanic plug
s, and dyke
s of Nandewar Range. The central feature of the region is Mount Kaputar
, the park's namesake, which rises to an altitude of 1510 m (4,954 ft). The 360 degree view from the summit of the mountain encompasses about 1/10 of New South Wales
' area or 80,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi).
The park protects a wide range of biome
s, including semi-arid woodland
, subalpine
heath
, and eucalypt forest
s, and provides a habitat for a range of animals, including bat
s, bird
s, wallabie
s, quoll
s, and the unique red triangle slug
(Triboniophorus graeffei), which is known to appear after rainfall.
s. The conditions in the park are very harsh, but several pioneering families lived there, and remnants of their occupation remain. Sheep and cattle
continued to graze on the plateau
until around the 1950s. It was an isolated place, and the stockmen in charge of the cattle often would not see another human for months at a time.
In 1925 some 775 ha (3 sq mi) of land around Mount Kaputar were declared a "Reserve for Public Recreation". Two years later, a trust, known as the Mount Kaputar Trust, was formed to give guidance on managing the park. The area was expanded to 14244 ha (55 sq mi) and proclaimed a full national park in 1959. Eight years later, in 1967, the Fund relinquished the duties of controlling the park to the newly-established National Parks and Wildlife Service
, and the park is still administered by a regional advisory board.
The park is popular with rockclimbers, and there are 11 walks in the park, as well as a camping ground. However, the most popular site in the park is Scutts Hut, located upward of Kurrawonga Falls. The hut is the former home of the Scutt family, a pioneer family
living in the vicinity of the park. it is accessible via a fire trail from the Bark Hut camping grounds. The hut has been restored to its original livery, with an earthen floor and an open fireplace. The hut is built on the banks of Horsearm Creek, which flows into Kurrawonga Falls.
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...
in 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...
, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar
Mount Kaputar
Mount Kaputar is a mountain near Narrabri in northern New South Wales. It is part of the Nandewar Range and has been preserved within the Mount Kaputar National Park. The mountain is a prominent landmark for travellers on the Newell Highway as it rises abruptly from the plains...
, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located 50 km (31 mi) east of Narrabri and 570 km (354 mi) northwest of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Millions of years of erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
have since carved the volcanic region into the lava terrace
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
s, volcanic plug
Volcanic plug
A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic landform created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When forming, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of pressure if volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an...
s, and dyke
Dike (geology)
A dike or dyke in geology is a type of sheet intrusion referring to any geologic body that cuts discordantly across* planar wall rock structures, such as bedding or foliation...
s of Nandewar Range. The central feature of the region is Mount Kaputar
Mount Kaputar
Mount Kaputar is a mountain near Narrabri in northern New South Wales. It is part of the Nandewar Range and has been preserved within the Mount Kaputar National Park. The mountain is a prominent landmark for travellers on the Newell Highway as it rises abruptly from the plains...
, the park's namesake, which rises to an altitude of 1510 m (4,954 ft). The 360 degree view from the summit of the mountain encompasses about 1/10 of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
' area or 80,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi).
The park protects a wide range of biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
s, including semi-arid woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
, and eucalypt forest
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
s, and provides a habitat for a range of animals, including bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, wallabie
Wallaby
A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
s, quoll
Quoll
The quoll, or native cat, is a carnivorous marsupial native to mainland Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. It is primarily nocturnal and spends most of the day in its den. There are six species of quoll; four are found in Australia and two in New Guinea...
s, and the unique red triangle slug
Red triangle slug
The red triangle slug, scientific name Triboniophorus graeffei, is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Athoracophoridae, the leaf-veined slugs....
(Triboniophorus graeffei), which is known to appear after rainfall.
History
Before it was a national park, the area was used largely as grazing land for domestic animalDomestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
s. The conditions in the park are very harsh, but several pioneering families lived there, and remnants of their occupation remain. Sheep and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
continued to graze on the plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
until around the 1950s. It was an isolated place, and the stockmen in charge of the cattle often would not see another human for months at a time.
In 1925 some 775 ha (3 sq mi) of land around Mount Kaputar were declared a "Reserve for Public Recreation". Two years later, a trust, known as the Mount Kaputar Trust, was formed to give guidance on managing the park. The area was expanded to 14244 ha (55 sq mi) and proclaimed a full national park in 1959. Eight years later, in 1967, the Fund relinquished the duties of controlling the park to the newly-established National Parks and Wildlife Service
National Parks and Wildlife Service (South Australia)
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is part of the Department for Environment and Heritage - the main government conservation agency in South Australia, Australia....
, and the park is still administered by a regional advisory board.
Facilities and activities
In 1965, two cabins were constructed at Dawsons Spring, providing accommodations including a permanent water supply for showers and toilets, and a picnic facility. Today there are 3 cabins, including the one facilitated from Bark Hut.The park is popular with rockclimbers, and there are 11 walks in the park, as well as a camping ground. However, the most popular site in the park is Scutts Hut, located upward of Kurrawonga Falls. The hut is the former home of the Scutt family, a pioneer family
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
living in the vicinity of the park. it is accessible via a fire trail from the Bark Hut camping grounds. The hut has been restored to its original livery, with an earthen floor and an open fireplace. The hut is built on the banks of Horsearm Creek, which flows into Kurrawonga Falls.