Everything about Flinders Ranges National Park totally explained
The
Flinders Ranges are to
South Australia's largest
mountain range approximately 400 km north of
Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km from
Port Pirie to
Lake Callabonna. Its most characteristic landmark is
Wilpena Pound, a large,
sickle-shaped, natural
amphitheatre covering nearly 80 square kilometres, containing the range's highest peak,
St Mary Peak (1170m).
The
Flinders Ranges National Park is located in the northern part of the Flinders Ranges. The park covers an area of 912 square kilometres, northeast of the small town of Hawker. The park includes the Wilpena Pound and St Mary Peak.
The
Heysen Trail and
Mawson Trail pass through the park.
There are many lookouts, scenic vistas, small canyons and unusual rock formations located in the park. These include Wilpena Pound, Wilkawillina Gorge, Hucks Lookout, Brachina Gorge, Bunyeru Gorge and Arkaroo Rock . An amazing rock formation called the Great Wall of China is located just outside the park. The park centre at Wilpena Pound is accessible by sealed road from Hawker. Other areas in the park can be reached by un-sealed roads, which are mostly accessible by two-wheel drive vehicles except in exceptionally bad weather. Camping is permitted at many locations in the park.
Geology
The Flinders Ranges are largely composed of folded and faulted sediments of the
Adelaide Geosyncline. This very thick sequence of sediments were deposited in a large basin during the
Neoproterozoic on the passive margin of the ancient continent of
Rodinia. During the
Cambrian, approximately 540 million years ago, the area underwent the
Delamerian orogeny where the geosynclinal sequence was folded and faulted into a large mountain range. Since this time the area has undergone erosion resulting in the relatively low ranges today.
Most of the high ground and ridgetops in the Flinders are sequences of
quartzites that outcrop along
strike. The high walls of
Wilpena Pound are formed by the outcropping beds of the eponymous Pound Quartzite in a synclinal structure. The same formation forms many of the other high parts of the Flinders, including the high plateau of the
Gammon Ranges and the Heysen Range.
Cuesta forms are also very common in the Flinders.
Flora and Fauna
The
flora of the Flinders Ranges is composed largely of species adapted to a semi-arid environment such as
cypress-pine,
mallee, and
black oak. Moister areas near Wilpena Pound support
grevilleas,
Guinea flowers,
lilies and
ferns.
Reeds and
sedges grow near permanent water sources such as
springs and
waterholes.
Since the eradication of
dingos and the establishment of permanent waterholes for stock, the numbers of
red kangaroos,
western grey kangaroos and
euros in the Flinders Ranges have increased. The
yellow-footed rock-wallaby, which neared extinction after the arrival of Europeans due to hunting and predation by
foxes, has now stabilized. Other endemic marsupials include
dunnarts,
planigales and
echidnas. Insectivorous
bats make up significant proportion of mammals in the area. There are a large number of bird species including
parrots,
galahs,
emus, the
wedge-tailed eagle and small numbers of water birds. Reptiles include
goannas,
snakes,
dragon lizards,
skinks and
geckos. The
streambank froglet is an endemic
amphibian.
Image:Flinders_Ranges_South_Australia_wide.jpg|The Flinders Ranges as seen from the Stuart Highway.
Image:NASA-Flinders-Ranges.JPG|Flinders Ranges from space.
Further Information
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