Grampians National Park

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This article is about a National Park in Australia. For the mountain range in Scotland, see Grampian Mountains (Scotland).

For the wine region, see Grampians wine region.

Grampians National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
View from The Pinnacle. Lake Bellfield can be seen at the left.
Nearest town/city:	Halls Gap
Coordinates:	37°12′28″S, 142°23′59″E
Area:	1,672.19 km²
Managing authorities:	Parks Victoria
Official site:	Grampians National Park

The Grampians National Park is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 235 kilometres west of Melbourne. The Grampians feature a striking series of sandstone mountain ranges. The ranges were named in 1836 by Surveyor General of New South Wales Sir Thomas Mitchell after the Grampian Mountains in his native Scotland, but are also known by the name Gariwerd, from one of the local Australian Aboriginal languages, either the Jardwadjai or Djabwurung language^[1]. After a two-year consultation process, the park was renamed Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park in 1991, however this controversial formality was reversed after a change of state government in 1992.

1 Physiography
- 1.1 Geography
- 1.2 Geology
2 Tourism
3 History
4 See also
5 Gallery
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Physiography

This area is a distinct physiographic section of the larger Western Victorian Highlands province, which in turn is part of the larger East Australian Cordillera physiographic division.

[edit] Geography

The general form that the ranges take is, from the west, a series of low-angled sandstone ridges running roughly north-south. The eastern sides of the ridges, where the sedimentary layers have faulted, are steep and spectacular, beyond the vertical in places - notably at Hollow Mountain near Dadswell's Bridge at the northern end of the ranges. The most popular walking area for day trippers is the Wonderland area near Halls Gap. In summer the ranges can get very hot and dry. Winter and spring are the best times for walking. In spring the Grampians wildflowers are a major attraction. The area is a noted rock climbing destination, and it is popular with campers and bushwalkers for its many spectacular views and unspoilt nature. However this is under increasing threat by inappropriate development of the area.

Mount William is known within the gliding community as the epicenter of the 'Grampians Wave', a weather phenomena enabling glider pilots to reach extreme altitudes above 28,000ft. This predominantly occurs during the months of May, June, September and October when strong westerly winds flow at right angles to the ridge, and produces a large-scale standing wave (Mountain Lee Wave).

The western part of the Park. To the right is the rock formation known as The Fortress.

[edit] Geology

The rock material that composes the high peaks is sandstone which was laid down from rivers during the Devonian era 380 Million years ago. This sediment slowly accumulated to a dept of 7 km, this later was raised and tilted for its present form. 40 million years ago the southern ocean reached the base of the northern and western base of the mountain range, the deposition from the range formed the sea floor which is now Little Desert National Park.

The highest peak is Mount William at 1167 metres. Numerous waterfalls are found in the park and are easily accessible via a well developed road network.

[edit] Tourism

Halls Gap is the largest service town in the area and is located at a point roughly equidistant between the towns of Ararat and Stawell. The town is located towards the eastern (Melbourne) side of the park and offers accommodation to the many tourists who visit the area.

[edit] History

Typical regrowth after the bushfire

A major bushfire burned out about 50% of the Grampians National Park in January 2006. Soon after this bushfire, however, the first signs of regeneration were already visible. Especially the regrowth of the Eucalypt trees in the National park is quite typical. Many trees resprout with a mass of young shoots along the whole length of the base of the tree.