Nambung National Park

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Nambung National Park
IUCN category II (national park)

Natural limestone formations commonly known as the Pinnacles
Nambung National Park
State Western Australia
Nearest town or city Cervantes
Coordinates 30°34′34″S 115°10′12″E / 30.57611°S 115.17000°E / -30.57611; 115.17000Coordinates: 30°34′34″S 115°10′12″E / 30.57611°S 115.17000°E / -30.57611; 115.17000
Area 192.68 km2 (74.4 sq mi)[1]
Managing authorities Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia)
Website Nambung National Park

Nambung National Park is a national park in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia (Australia), 162 km northwest of Perth. It contains the Pinnacles Desert.

Nambung is an Indigenous Australian word meaning crooked or winding referring to the Nambung River that drains into the area.

The park is bordered to the north by Southern Beekeepers Nature Reserve and to the south by Wanagarren Nature Reserve. A large area of vacant Crown Land is found along much of the eastern edge.[2]

Europeans first visited the area in 1658 when Dutch maps recorded North and South Hummocks on their maps. Philip Parker King also mentioned the Hummocks in his journals in 1820. The Pinnacles Desert area remained relatively unknown until surveyed in the late 1960s after the area had been added to an existing national park that was formed in 1956.

Visitors can access the "Pinnacles" from Cervantes, 17 km north of the park, via Cervantes Road and Indian Ocean Drive. With the opening of the final (south) section of Indian Ocean Drive from Lancelin to Cervantes on 19 September 2010, visitors travelling from Perth can now access the "Pinnacles" Nambung National Park directly via Indian Ocean Drive.

The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre features exhibits about the geology of the pinnacles formations and the cultural and natural heritage values of the area.

Flora and fauna

Nambung National Park includes many wildlife features. The western grey kangaroo is a native animal. In the breeding season humpback whales will also breed in the area. There are around 90 different species of birds in the area. There are also snakes and many other reptiles such as lizards.

See also

  • Protected areas of Western Australia
  • The Pinnacles Desert

References

  1. ↑ Department of Environment and Conservation 2009–2010 Annual Report. Department of Environment and Conservation. 2010. p. 48. ISSN 1835-114X. 
  2. ↑ "Nambung National Park Management Plan 1998-2008". 1998. Retrieved 23 October 2010. 
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Protected areas of Western Australia
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