| Cape Le Grand National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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Mount Le Grande from Frenchman Peak |
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| Location | Southern Western Australia |
| Nearest city | Esperance |
| Area | 31,801 ha (78,580 acres)[1] |
| Established | 1966 |
| Governing body | Department of Environment and Conservation |
| Official website | |
Cape Le Grand National Park is a national park in Western Australia, 631 kilometres (392 mi) south-east of Perth and 56 kilometres (35 mi) east of Esperance. The park covers an area of 31,801 hectares (78,580 acres)
The area is an ancient landscape has above sea level for well over 200 million years and remained unglaciated. As a result the area is home to many primitive relict species.[2]
Established in 1966, the park is managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation.
The name Le Grand is from one of the officers on L'Esperance, one of the ships in the 1792 expedition of Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.[3]
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The largely granite shoreline and white sand beaches are picturesque features of the area. The park is a used for fishing, off-roading, tourism, and hiking.
Beaches within the Park include those at Lucky Bay, Rossiter Bay, Hellfire Bay, Le Grande Beach, and Thistle Cove.
The islands and waters to the south of the park are known as the Recherche Archipelago Nature Reserve, another protected area of the Archipelago of the Recherche and nearby coastal regions. The Cape Arid National Park is located to the east.
The south-west section of the Park is dominated by rock outcrops of gneiss and granite. These form a distinctive chain of peaks including Mount Le Grand (345 m), Frenchman Peak (262 m) and Mississippi Hill (180 m). Further inland, the park comprises mostly heath-covered sandplain, interspersed with swamps and pools of fresh water.
The sandplains support dense stands of banksias (Banksia speciosa and Banksia pulchella).[4]
Other flora that can be found around the park include Melaleucas, Grevilleas, Sheoaks,[5] Christmas Tree and Grass Trees.
Wildflowers bloom in spring lasting until October and species such as Blue China Orchid, Diuris corybosa, Hakea laurina, Thysanotus Sparteus and Thelymitra macrophylla are represented within the park.
Fauna that are commonly found within the park include bandicoots, pygmy honey possums, ring tailed possums, quenda and grey kangaroos.[6]
Some of the relic species with strong gondwanan associations that are found within the park include legless lizards like the common scaly-foot, Delma Fraser, Delma australis and Aprasia striolata. The ancient but non-gondwanan blind snake Ramphotyphlops australis is also found within the park.
Endemic frogs found within the area include the quacking frog, the western banjo frog and the humming frog.
Facilities include toilets, barbecues, campsites, tables, sheltered areas, walk-trails, information bays and water tanks. Two full time rangers are resident within the park.[3]
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