Windjana Gorge National Park
Encyclopedia
Windjana Gorge National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
(Australia
), 1855 km northeast of Perth
and 355 km east of Broome
.
The gorge has been carved by the Lennard River
and is over 3 km long and about 100m wide with walls to a height of 30m in places. The rocks are part of the Napier Range
, an ancient Devonian
reef system that is over 375 million years old.
The rocks are the same as the ones found at Tunnel Creek
and Geikie Gorge
.
The river flows freely through the gorge during the wet season but during the dry season (between May and September) it becomes a series of pools surrounded by trees and shrubs. Some of the vegetation found along the river banks include paperbarks, cadjebuts, native fig trees and leichhardt trees.
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...
(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...
), 1855 km northeast of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and 355 km east of Broome
Broome, Western Australia
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
.
The gorge has been carved by the Lennard River
Lennard River
Lennard River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.The river rises below the King Leopold Ranges and flows in a westerly direction through the Lennard River Gorge and the Windjana Gorge before merging with the Meda River....
and is over 3 km long and about 100m wide with walls to a height of 30m in places. The rocks are part of the Napier Range
Napier Range
The Napier Ranges are located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The range is south of and runs parallel to the King Leopold Range.They feature the impressive Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek and Geikie Gorge that were formed over 350 million years ago as part of a limestone reef.The...
, an ancient Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
reef system that is over 375 million years old.
The rocks are the same as the ones found at Tunnel Creek
Tunnel Creek
Tunnel Creek is a creek located within the grounds of Tunnel Creek National Park in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. Along with Geikie Gorge and Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek is part of an ancient barrier reef that developed during the Devonian Period...
and Geikie Gorge
Geikie Gorge
Geikie Gorge is a feature of the Napier Range and is located within the grounds of Geikie Gorge National Park, 20 km from Fitzroy Crossing, 1831 km northeast of Perth and 420 km east of Broome in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia...
.
The river flows freely through the gorge during the wet season but during the dry season (between May and September) it becomes a series of pools surrounded by trees and shrubs. Some of the vegetation found along the river banks include paperbarks, cadjebuts, native fig trees and leichhardt trees.
See also
- Protected areas of Western AustraliaProtected areas of Western AustraliaWestern Australia is the second largest subnational entity in the world. It contains no fewer than 1224 separate Protected Areas with a total area of 170,610 km²...