Murchison River Gorge
Encyclopedia
Murchison River Gorge is a river
ine gorge in Mid West Western Australia
. Carved by the meandering lower reaches of the Murchison River
, it is more than 80 kilometres long, and up to 129 metres deep. It begins about 13½ kilometres nort-northwest of Ajana, and extends to the mouth of the river at Kalbarri.
Widely considered a site of outstanding natural beauty, it is a major tourist attraction. Specific points of interest for tourists include the Z Bend
lookout and The Loop walking trail.
It is also of immense interest to geologists, as it contains outstanding exposures of Tumblagooda sandstone
, an Ordovician
redbed deposit that contains fossils of eurypterid
s, representing some of the earlier fossil evidence of land animals. Fossilised eurypterid tracks are fairly common in the vicinity of the gorge, as are the tracks of outher arthropod
s, possibly trilobite
s.
The gorge is considered to be in excellent condition. Protection is afforded by the fact that it is almost entirely included within the boundaries of Kalbarri National Park
, and also by its listing, since 1978, on Australia
's Register of the National Estate
.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
ine gorge in Mid West Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. Carved by the meandering lower reaches of the Murchison River
Murchison River (Western Australia)
The Murchison River is the second longest river in Western Australia. It flows for about from the southern edge of the Robinson Ranges to the Indian Ocean at Kalbarri. It has a mean annual flow of about 200 million cubic metres.-Course:...
, it is more than 80 kilometres long, and up to 129 metres deep. It begins about 13½ kilometres nort-northwest of Ajana, and extends to the mouth of the river at Kalbarri.
Widely considered a site of outstanding natural beauty, it is a major tourist attraction. Specific points of interest for tourists include the Z Bend
Z Bend
The Z Bend is a popular tourist lookout on the Murchison River Gorge in Western Australia. It is located at , about 30 kilometres east of Kalbarri, in the Kalbarri National Park. One of four lookouts in the national park, it is situated on a sharp bend in the gorge...
lookout and The Loop walking trail.
It is also of immense interest to geologists, as it contains outstanding exposures of Tumblagooda sandstone
Tumblagooda sandstone
The Tumblagooda sandstone is a geological formation deposited during the Silurian or Ordovician periods, around four to five hundred million years ago, and is now exposed on the west coast of Australia, straddling the boundary of the Carnarvon and Perth basins...
, an Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
redbed deposit that contains fossils of eurypterid
Eurypterid
Eurypterids are an extinct group of arthropods related to arachnids which include the largest known arthropods that ever lived. They are members of the extinct order Eurypterida ; which is the most diverse Paleozoic chelicerate order in terms of species...
s, representing some of the earlier fossil evidence of land animals. Fossilised eurypterid tracks are fairly common in the vicinity of the gorge, as are the tracks of outher arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s, possibly trilobite
Trilobite
Trilobites are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period , and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before...
s.
The gorge is considered to be in excellent condition. Protection is afforded by the fact that it is almost entirely included within the boundaries of Kalbarri National Park
Kalbarri National Park
Kalbarri National Park is located north of Perth. The major geographical features of the park include the Murchison River gorge which runs for nearly 80 kilometres on the lower reaches of the Murchison River...
, and also by its listing, since 1978, on 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 Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
.