Australia's national parks list. Lesuera national park

The area of ​​the Victoria Desert is 424 thousand square meters. km. From the south, it is adjoined by the territory of the Mallabor Plain. This rugged area is named after the famous British Queen Victoria. Ernest Giles became the "godfather" of the desert. It was he who was the first of the inhabitants of the old world to cross this land, harsh to man.

Deserts equal to her in size in Australia no longer exist. Due to the arid climate, agricultural activity is not possible here. Average annual precipitation is 200-250 mm. Thunderstorms sometimes happen. In summer, the daytime temperature is 32-40 degrees, in winter - 18-23 degrees. There is no snow here.

it is a piece of virgin nature, untouched by man, of an amazing continent next to a large business and economic center of the country, a huge reserve of unique animals and plants, each of which deserves a separate book.

A huge national park with an area of ​​over a million hectares with tall eucalyptus trees, fern thickets, swamps, waterfalls, rocks and caves. This huge amazing park deservedly included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Big Barrier reef(Great Barrier Reef) located at eastern shores Australia is truly the most stunning underwater kingdom on Earth. The sunniest state in Australia - Queensland - has this unique nature reserve.

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, holds under its wing Gumbuya park (Gumbuya), which the park employees themselves position as a children's natural playground. It would seem that you will not surprise us with amusement parks, in each more or less big city there are such, what is this something special?

Firstly, the history of the park is remarkable - initially it was a pheasant breeding farm, for this reason, by the way, the entrance to the park is decorated with a large figure of a multi-colored pheasant, so it is impossible to pass by without noticing the park. In 1978, Ron Rado redesigned it as a zoo with a picnic area.

Taking a look at the map of Australia, we can see that many rivers are shown with dotted lines. This betrays their ephemeral nature. Most of them are fully functional only after heavy rains. But in the northeast there are rivers comparable to the largest in the world. They are all part of a single Murray-Darling system.

The Great Dividing Range, which stretches along the southeastern coast, forms two types of rivers. Those flowing eastward into the sea. Those that gather in the western part form the Murray-Darling system. At the headwaters of the rivers on the eastern slope there are cold stormy waters, like those of the mountain streams of the Alps. The river system of the western part is peculiar, typically Australian. The rivers here are wide, slow, silted. Water level fluctuations are extremely sharp.

Willandra Lake District

Willandra Lake District - object World heritage UNESCO No. 167. The area covers an area of ​​2,400 square kilometers, in the southwestern part of New South Wales in Australia. Part of the region (about 10%) is National park Mungo.

The Willandra Lake District covers an area of ​​2,400 km2 in southwest New South Wales, 582 km west of Sydney. There are five large and fourteen small lakes, formed more than two million years ago.

All lakes (5 large and 14 small) are dry, formed more than 2 million years ago, and are covered with saline vegetation. The region also features unique lunar semi-desert landscapes. There are eucalyptus woodlands.

The region is unique for its paleontological finds from the Pleistocene period, as well as for the finds of evidence of human civilization dating from 45000-60,000 BC. NS. In 1968, the remains of a cremated woman were found in the dunes of Lake Mungo. In 1974, a male burial was found near the find. Considered the oldest remnants of human activity on the planet

The nature in these places, unlike other regions of Australia, is not rich - a semi-desert landscape, a lot sand dunes, fields with sparse shrubs and grass, in places small islets of woodland with eucalyptus and conifers (such as white pine and Australian blue cypress) trees. Of the living creatures in the region, about 20 species of mammals have been recorded, including kangaroos and echidnas, as well as emu ostriches, several species of bats and many reptiles.

Mungo National Park, located in the Willandra Lake District and taking its name from the large ancient Lake Mungo, is world famous for paleontological discoveries, proving the habitability of this region about 60 thousand years ago. In the vicinity of Lake Mungo in 1968 and 1974, archaeologists discovered the remains of cremated ancient people - this is a unique, oldest cremation in the world.

In total, there are 19 lakes in the Willandra Lake District, and their uniqueness is given by the fact that they were all formed more than 2 million years ago! The photo shows the largest of Willandra's lakes: 1 - Mulurulu, 2 - Willandra, 3 - Garnpung, 4 - Lehur, 5 - Mungo, 6 - Arumpo, 7 - Chibnalwood

In addition to the ancient dry lakes, Willandra boasts interesting semi-desert landscapes, somewhat reminiscent of the moon, among which there are occasionally small eucalyptus groves

The territory of the lake region turned out to be a storehouse of traces of human activity dating from 45-60 millennia BC, and the human remains found here in 1968 and 1974 are the most ancient burial places of our ancestors today!

In a region that was once severely glaciated, parks and reserves with steep gorges cover more than 1 million hectares, making Western Tasmania's forests one of the last in the world with temperate climates. The remains found in limestone caves indicate that people appeared here more than 20 thousand years ago.

The island of Tasmania, discovered in 1642 by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, is located off the southeast coast of Australia. It is cut off from the mainland by the Bass Strait, from its western side Indian Ocean, from the east - the Tasman Sea.

The nature of Tasmania amazes with its pristine fabulous beauty, the splendor and uniqueness of landscapes is Mountain peaks and centuries-old, in places impenetrable rainforests, quiet green valleys and fast rivers with crystal clean water and ice waterfalls, picturesque gorges and volcanoes, colorful meadows with marvelous flowers and mirror-like surface of lakes, seashores with a great variety of narrow bays and white beaches. Surprisingly, the nature of Tasmania still keeps vast spaces where no human has ever set foot.

Parrot with an orange belly, southwestern Tasmania. There are about 150 of them left in the wild. A huge number of plants, eucalyptus forests, tree ferns - the wild nature of western Tasmania is in many ways very similar to that of Australia. The mild, humid climate here has both evergreen and deciduous trees.

Many of them reach incredible sizes. Globular eucalyptus, for example, can be up to one hundred and twenty meters in height. There are also southern beeches and Franklin pines with very valuable red wood, spinous atrotaxis (some representatives of the species have lived for more than two centuries), cypress antrotaxis, rare species of mosses and lichens.

The wildlife of western Tasmania is teeming with exotic animals. This paradise is home to the Tasmanian devil, red wallaby, Tasmanian bettong, marsupial wolf, dingo, platypus, koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, possums, as well as about 150 species of birds.

The cultural heritage of this region, which was the southernmost area of ​​human habitation on our planet, is also of colossal interest. There are more than 40 sacred places of local aborigines, which are still of exceptional importance for the modern aboriginal population. Archaeological finds from this region have formed invaluable art collections.
It is known, however, that modern cultural history Tasmania is full of drama and even tragic. During the colonization of the island by Europeans, the local population of the island was almost completely destroyed. According to the 1961 census, there is one (!) Aboriginal in Tasmania. Now there are officially many more of them, but does this mean that the connection of times has been restored? The noted specificity of the region can also be traced in its toponymy.

Here are the names of the rivers in the World Heritage Region: Gordon, Franklin, Andrew, Denison, Maxwell, etc. etc. Needless to say, historically, quite recently, all these rivers had completely different names, reflecting, as elsewhere in the world, their characteristic features in the languages ​​of those people who lived on their banks. Fortunately, many of the mainland areas of Australia still retain their natural place names, which are also part of the heritage - natural and cultural.

Tasmania Island - World Heritage wildlife an area of ​​1.38 million hectares. It is a citadel of rainforest, alpine nature and untouched habitats for animals (rare and endangered) and plants.

The island of Tasmania is interesting for its extraordinary nature- this is the only place in the region where a temperate type of climate prevails; in the Southern Hemisphere, this is found only in the south of Chile and Argentina. Tasmania is the smallest state in Australia.

Almost the entire territory of the island is large nature reserve... Almost a quarter of its territory has not yet been influenced by humans. Impenetrable forests and jungles, mysterious and strange forest animals, a huge number of rare species of birds, a large number of fish in mountain lakes and rivers have been preserved here. One of the legendary inhabitants of the forests of Tasmania is the Tasmanian devil, however, recently the number of this unusual wild animal has significantly decreased.

The nature of Tasmania is exceptional and has no analogues in the world. The heart of Tasmanian wilderness is the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Here you can see amazing mountain peaks, tropical forests, deep river valleys, picturesque gorges. And among all this splendor, reserved rivers meander.

Can't be ignored Mountain national park Cradle Lake St. Clair. This national park is one of the famous monuments nature, it is included in the lists of cultural heritage of mankind.

The local lakes are popular for trout fishing and bushwalking, and the restaurants here offer authentic Tasmanian cuisine and excellent Tasmanian wine. Icy rivers cascade from jagged peaks and flow into transparent lakes. It offers stunning views of age-old rainforests and alpine moors
.

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the east coast of mainland Australia, on the border between Queensland and New South Wales.

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986 (expanded in 1994) under the name Australian East Coast Temperate and Subtropical Rainforest Parks. Then it included 16 tracts of rainforest in New South Wales (an area of ​​about 203,500 hectares). In 1994, the facility was expanded to include 40 more properties, most of which were located in the state of Queensland. Between 1994 and 2007, it was called the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves.

Currently, there are about 50 separate nature reserves on its territory, located between the Australian cities of Newcastle and Brisbane. They all stretch for 500 km along the Great Dividing Range in eastern New South Wales and southern Queensland, and the site itself is a collection of numerous tracts of rainforest that are surrounded by eucalyptus forests and agricultural land. The rainforests of the east coast of Australia are the largest subtropical rainforests in the world. The total area of ​​the facility is about 370 thousand hectares.

Scientifically, they have essential, as they represent a huge accumulation of ancient vegetation in Australia, formed during the time when the modern mainland was still part of the supercontinent of Gondwana. The relief of the area where the forests are located is diverse. It includes numerous gorges, prehistoric volcanoes, waterfalls and rivers.

The world of flora and fauna is extremely rich: about half of all Australian plant families and about a third of Australian species of mammals and birds are registered in forests (despite the fact that forests occupy only 0.3% of the total area of ​​the Australian mainland).

Wet Tropics of Queensland is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the northeast coast of mainland Australia, in the state of Queensland. The site is a wilderness area covered with tropical rain forests and characterized by a wide variety of relief (rivers, gorges, waterfalls, mountains). Located in the valley of the Daintree River, covering an area of ​​8940 km². Included in the World Heritage List in 1988.

Great Dividing Range
There are three main geographic regions on the site: the Great Dividing Range plateau, the Great Cliffs region in the east, and the coastal plains. The plateau has a highly eroded topography resulting from both erosion and past volcanic activity.

Separate lava cones and crater lakes have been preserved. The Great Cliffs Region is a highly rugged terrain that has experienced catastrophic erosion. There are numerous gorges and waterfalls. The northern part of the World Heritage Site contains vast areas of coral reefs.

Coral reefs

The climate ranges from humid to very humid. There are two seasons per year: relatively dry winter and rainy summer. Average annual precipitation ranges from 4000 mm near the coast to 1200 mm in the western part. The average maximum temperature in summer near the coast is 31 ° C, in winter months it is 5 ° C lower. On the plateau and in the area of ​​cliffs, the temperature in summer ranges from 28 to 17 ° C, in winter - from 22 to 9 ° C.

The world of flora and fauna is extremely rich: about 380 species of plants and 102 species of animals are registered in the forests, which are endangered or considered rare. Forests are home to 30% of all species of marsupials recorded in Australia, 58% of bats, 29% of frogs, 20% of reptiles, 58% of butterflies and 40% of bird species. From a scientific point of view, local rainforests are important because represent a huge accumulation of ancient vegetation in Australia, formed during the time when the modern mainland was still part of the supercontinent of Gondwana. There are extensive mangroves an area of ​​about 136 km².

The local forests are the traditional habitat of the Australian aborigines, who settled in the region more than 50 thousand years ago.

Snapshot from space
Shark Bay is a bay in the northwestern part of the Australian state of Western Australia, located about 650 km north of the city of Perth.

On old English and Dutch maps it was called "Shark Bay". The bay is a bay with an average depth of 10 meters, which is cut by two peninsulas jutting out into the Indian Ocean. Today Shark Bay attracts about 120,000 tourists annually. In 1991 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In 1629, the Dutch explorer Francois Pelsart described the Gulf Coast as a lifeless and dismal place. Its first name - Shark Bay, the bay received at the end of the 17th century, when an English ship under the command of Captain William Dampier reached the coast of Western Australia and stopped in the bay.

It was around this time that Dampier mapped the coastline of the bay. According to one version, the name Shark Bay got its name from the fact that a giant shark was caught by the sailors of the ship under the command of Dampir, which went to eat the hungry crew. According to another, the most widespread version, the bay got this name due to the habitation in its waters of more than ten species of sharks, including a tiger shark.

Stromatolites in Khamelin-Pool Bay

In 1991, the bay was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a unique ecosystem. The basis of the ecosystem is algae, which covers more than 4000 km² of the bottom of the bay. Plankton, consisting of shrimps and small fish, find shelter in them. Algae are also the main food for the dugongs, of which there are about 10 thousand.

Shark Bay is one of the world's largest dugong habitats. Bottlenose dolphins are found in the bay, attracting biologists from all over the world to the bay. In the southernmost part of the bay is a shallow bay called Hamelin Pool, the world's largest stromatolite formation, which is almost 3 billion years old.

The world's most important fossil sites in Australia are Riversley (in the northeast of the mainland) and Naracourt (in the southeast). In Queensland's Riversley, the fossilized bones are very well preserved, thanks to the ideal environment (the limestone plain is rich in near-surface waters), which, unfortunately, is not so favorable for plant remains.

Paleontologists have discovered animal fossils that date back to the Cenozoic era (65 million years). These are fossil remains of bison, frogs, kangaroos. In 2001, the remains of a marsupial lion, a distant relative of koalas, were found here.

Scientists have found that herbivorous marsupial mammals - wallabies and rat kangaroos, huge diprotodonts and "odd-toothed" yalkaparidonts lived in the Riversley forests in the Miocene. And the last representative of the carnivorous striped marsupial wolf (tilacin, "marsupial tiger", "Tasmanian wolf") died relatively recently - in 1933, in captivity.

Of the discovered fossil birds, the most noteworthy are the "birds of thunder", which resemble ostriches outwardly and are the ancestors of modern flightless species.

Hello readers! In this article I would like to touch upon the topic of National parks Australia. Personally, I am very interested in this continent and its nature, so let's talk in more detail about its careful protection ...

Australia, about 180 million years ago, was part of Gondwana, or rather the southern tip of Pangea, an ancient continent. Australia, over time, broke away from Gondwana and set off on a long eastward.

As a result, Australia has become home to all kinds of marsupials.

Human factor.

The ancestors of modern aborigines inhabited Australia for about 40 thousand years. back. The ancient "immigrants" adapted to new conditions and lived in complete harmony with the environment, worshiping natural elements and the earth.

But in 1788, Europeans arrived on the continent, who energetically began to "conquer" the newly discovered world. They believed that the nature of the continent was so rich that it would not be lost if they began to cut down forests by the roots in order to clear the land for pastures.

Already in the early 1820s, alarming voices were heard about the rapid depletion of the country. And in 1866 the first protected area was taken under protection.

Under the onslaught of man, the world of wildlife retreated. And today, vast areas of dry steppes, which hold back the advance of the desert, are gradually turning into the same ones due to erosion and overgrazing of livestock.

In 1879, Royal National Park, the second largest in the world after American Yellowstone, was opened on the east coast south of Sydney.

The area of ​​this mountainous area is 72.8 km 2, which is distinguished by fabulous wealth flora- from heathery sandstone hills to tropical rainforests in deep canyons.

Extinct species.

Over the past two centuries, many animals and plants have been irretrievably lost, even though people woke up early enough.

In 1990, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources(IUCN), which was created in 1948 with the aim of publishing and collecting data on endangered species and reserves - in one way or another, about 456 540 km 2 (about 5.9%) of Australia's territory are under protection.

295,750 km 2 of them are nature reserves in which felling and mining is prohibited.

This area includes both scientific reserves that are closed to the public and national parks with wide access for tourists, provided that they respect nature. Another 160,790 km 2 of land are under partial protection.

Protected country.

There were 782 reserves in Australia in 1990 (and in 1900 there were only 4). Eight of these reserves are included in the list natural sites UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Kakadu National Park and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Sanctuary.

The longest in the world (almost 2000 km) ridge of islands and coral reefs is the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches along the east coast of Queensland.

It is home to many species of plants and animals. Almost all reefs are included in the territory of the national park, the total area of ​​which is about 350 thousand km 2.

Today, the exploitation of the natural resources of the reefs is strictly limited. In order to preserve this entire fabulously beautiful but vulnerable ecosystem, a categorical ban was introduced on offshore drilling and oil production.

Kakadu National Park has not only natural but also cultural significance. Its area is 6670 km 2. This park, which is located 220 km south of Darwin, is the most famous of the Northern Territory parks.

Kakadu Park has a wide range of natural areas- from salt lakes and mangrove swamps on the coast to shrubbery, eucalyptus forests and moorlands with islands of tropical jungle.

About 50 species of mammals, 75 species of reptiles, 270 species of birds and a great variety of fish live here.

On the territory of the park, about 5,000 drawings on the walls and rocks of caves and 120 prehistoric sites were discovered. In these parts at the end of the 19th century, the Europeans also managed to manage, bringing water buffaloes from Asia and exterminating crocodiles.

Fortunately, this thoughtless destruction was stopped in time.

In 1979, the Kakadu National Park was formed, and in 1985-1987. - has been significantly expanded.

About half of the park is owned by Aboriginal people from local tribe gaduju, they think this territory is sacred.

In order to generate income from tourism, Aboriginal people leased their lands to the Directorate of the Australian National Parks and Reserves Service, but in matters of park management, Aboriginal people still have the final say.

There are mineral deposits in the Kakadu Park. Among them is uranium, but many conservationists oppose their development, and there is only one uranium mine.

Stones, caves, flowers.

Australia is a large and relatively sparsely populated country. Australia's population is concentrated in cities.

Local authorities care about the preservation of the rich natural heritage, including areas with picturesque relief, places in which rare species of animals and plants live, as well as objects of historical and cultural significance.

Today, many of them have been transformed into national parks, but in addition to them, Australia has a large number of nature reserves, local parks and reserves.

In Uluru National Park (which in Aboriginal language means "big rock") stands Ayers Rock, the famous sandstone monolith, which is another World Heritage Site.

In 1985, the Australian government transferred this park to the ownership of the Aboriginal - its original owners, who, following the example of the indigenous people of the Kakadu National Park, leased it to the Australian National Parks and Conservation Service for 99 years.

Tanami Desert is one of the largest nature reserves, covering an area of ​​35 thousand km 2, located northwest of Alice Springs.

And the pride of this untouched corner The Australian Desert is a rare collection of desert birds, marsupials and other animals that are found nowhere else in the world.

Queensland has more national parks than any other Australian state, with more than a hundred protected coastal islands alone.

On the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range is the Carnavaron National Park, famous for its caves with Aboriginal rock paintings and picturesque mountain landscapes.

The Queensland Wet Tropics Conservation Area is located in the northeast of the state and is another natural site world heritage.

Diversity of ecosystems.

A wide variety of ecosystems are represented in the reserves and national parks of New South Wales - from the mountainous landscape in the spurs of the Great Dividing Range to the rainforest in New England Park.

Kosciuszko Peak – highest peak Australia, is located in the Kosciuszko National Park, whose area is 5439 km 2. A rare dwarf couscous also lives here.

Grampian National Park is located in the southwest of Victoria. This park is known for its rich wildlife, including the famous platypuses, and wild flowers.

And such inhabitants as koalas, wombats and emu ostriches have made Wilson Promontory National Park, located on the southeast coast, in the mountainous area.

South and West.

Unique natural corners are carefully protected in national parks South Australia... Some of the most famous of these include Lake Air National Park, the Flinders Ranges and the Simpson Desert.

The coastal Kurong National Park, located south of Adelaide, has a completely different look and is famous for its salty lagoon among sand dunes. It is one of 28 globally significant wetland reserves established under the 1971 Ramsar Convention.

Western Australia's first National Park. John Forrest, near Perth, is famous for its eucalyptus forests and is very good for hiking.

Also, a number of sections of the islands have been taken under protection, sea ​​coast and deserts, where there is almost no human habitation.

Shark Bay Conservation Area, located 680 kilometers north of Perth, is recognized as a Natural World Heritage Site.

Tasmania.

The heritage of the vast island of Tasmania is very small. Thanks to this, about 30% of the island's area is reserved for national parks. Wilderness is one of them.

It is located on the western coast of the island and covers an area of ​​7700 km 2. All types of local landscape are widely represented in this reserve - turbulent rivers, mountains, tropical and eucalyptus forests.

The conclusion is this: we, people, often have a bad attitude towards nature and through this neglect it suffers greatly, and we together with it. A striking example of this is the colonization of Australia by Europeans (as I wrote at the beginning of this article). Let's try not to do this ourselves and teach our children to take care of nature.

Australia is full of a variety of national parks and reserves, strikingly different from each other! I propose to briefly go through the most amazing of them.

Let's start with the greenest parks in Australia and gradually move on to the more deserted ones. So, the first on our list is Kakadu National Park - a real green oasis surrounded on all sides by rocks.

The most famous landscape of Kakadu Park is the scenic view of Jim Jim Falls.

Similar in vegetation and landscapes, but more varied is the Blue Mountains National Park, part of the Great Dividing Range.

The park is home to many rare animals and thousands of relict plants.

No less beautiful landscapes can be observed in the Kanangra Boyd National Park adjacent to the Blue Mountains.

The park is known primarily for its amazing cliffs.

Another beautiful part of the Blue Mountains is Woollemi National Park.

It was here that a species of pine was found, living on the planet for more than 30 million years, and a cave with more than 200 ancient rock paintings!

This is one of the few Australian parks with its own helipad and a tower for extinguishing fires, which are frequent in the area.

The most interesting place park - Natural Bridge, a real miracle among green trees.

Quite different in fact is the small Walpole-Nornalup Park.

The highlight of the park is that the main and most interesting route literally runs along the treetops ...

Another beautiful, but not so popular place for active rest is Nattai National Park.

The main feature of this park is the picturesque sandstone cliffs.

Much less greenery can be found in the Purnululu National Park, which is made up mostly of amazing cone-shaped mountains.

The most famous part of the park is mountain range Bangle-Bangle.

There are also some very unusual rock formations.

Another amazing National Park located in the heart of Australia is

Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kakadu National Park is 157 km away. east of Darwin, the state capital in which the Park is located. This city itself is of interest to tourists. It will surprise you with its ancient and eventful history. Several times the city was subjected to military attacks and natural disasters, due to which it was practically erased from the face of the Earth, but invariably revived again.

The park got its name in honor of the Kakadu tribe that lives on its territory to this day. This is the most large park Australia - its area is 19,000 square meters. km. The natural boundary of the park is formidable, steep cliffs with a height of 400 to 500 meters.

They, like a jewelry setting of a precious stone, border the park, protecting it from storms. Kakadu Park is a unique archaeological, natural and ethnological reserve. If you visit this magical corner of the earth, in addition to the opportunity to admire the beauty of Australia's wildlife, you will get a unique chance to touch the ancient prints of the work of the first people. This area is home to two of the most famous caves with rock painting aboriginal.

The specimens preserved here are considered the finest in Australia and some of the finest in the world. The first traces of intelligent life found in this part of Australia indicate that it appeared here over 50,000 years ago. Aboriginal rock paintings and writings, archaeological and paleontological excavations throw some light on the mysterious and enigmatic life of local people from different times - from hunter-gatherers of prehistoric times to modern people.

The oldest preserved rock paintings are 18,000 years old. An original and unusual feature of the rock paintings of the aborigines of the Kakadu National Park is the so-called "X-ray" style. Locals Apparently, driven by an indefatigable thirst for knowledge, they were not content with knowing only the outer shell of things, they went further, which was reflected in their work.

Their drawings convey not only the external appearance of people and animals, but also their internal organs. All cave paintings, writings and other traces of ancient people, you could easily see and explore in the Park. Perhaps even if you are especially attentive and lucky, you will be lucky enough to find some new trace left by our distant ancestors many centuries ago. It is truly an exciting experience to learn something new from the long-left traces of a person's life.

The site is so unique that it was placed on the World Heritage List in 1981. Kakadu National Park and the Great Coral Reef are the first two Australian territories to be included in this List.

Nature and animals Kakadu National park

Kakadu National Park spreads its possessions for 200 km. from north to south and 100 km. from east to west. Due to the unique structure of the earth's crust in this area, the chemical and biological composition of the soil, the vast water network covering the park, the local flora and fauna is so diverse that it simply cannot leave you indifferent. More than 1,700 plant species are registered in the Park, and undoubtedly this list can be replenished with several dozen new species.

The fauna is represented by 280 species of birds, 117 species of reptiles, 77 species of freshwater fish, 1000 species of insects and 60 species of mammals. This wealth is the result geological structure The park, landforms and a variety of habitats - from shady swamps and dense forests to the rushing streams of deep rivers and open sunny fields.

From this list of living creatures, you can easily find such representatives of wildlife in the park as a frilled lizard, crocodile, tree frog, octopus, scorpion, locust of unusual bright red and yellow color, monitor lizard, buffalo, wild boar, kangaroo and many others.

Two large rivers flow through the Park - Noarlanga Creek and Majela Creek. Both freshwater, safe for humans, crocodiles, and sea, which brings fear and horror to all the inhabitants and visitors of the park, and the legendary fish of Australia - barramundi, swim in them. This is one of the lung-breathing fish.

In the south of Wolwong Marshes Park, a vast wetland teems with an abundance of marsh and waterfowl. Also in the vicinity of the Marshes you can observe a large number of insects and reptiles. Another attraction of the Park that you should visit is the Gemini Falls Cascade, which is a truly breathtaking sight.

The variety of croaking and singing frogs is the pride of the Park. Here there are about 22 species of these reptiles. Among such cold-blooded inhabitants of the Park are seen: bullfrog, marble frog, green tree frog, frog-toad, etc.

Despite the fact that the forests of the Kakadu National Park look like they have never been stepped on by a human foot, this is not true. According to legend, the "first people" appeared in Kakadu back in the "time of dreams" or during the creation of the world, when our ancestors emerged from the depths of the earth, who, wandering around the world, plunged into the rocks, leaving only their imprints on the surface. The natives are sure that their ancestors still live in the southern part of the Park, called the "country of illness", and therefore warn tourists to step carefully and not to wake the sleeping gods.

Having visited the Kakadu National Park, you will be convinced that Australia is truly one of the most mysterious continents of our planet.

Purnululu National Park

Purnululu National Park National park) Is a national park in the Australian state of Western Australia. Founded in 1987. In 2003 it was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Translated from one of the languages ​​of the Australian aborigines "Purnululu" means "sandstone

The National Park covers an area of ​​239,723 hectares in northeastern Western Australia on the Kimberley Plateau.The Purnululu Conservation Reserve is 79,602 hectares

Nearest locality, the city of Kununarra, is located about 300 km to the north.

The relief on the territory of the park is extremely diverse and is represented by 4 main ecosystems: the Bungle Bungle Range (English Bungle Bungle Range, area - about 45 thousand hectares), which is a highly dissected area (plateau) with numerous formations formed from Devonian sandstone; the vast sandy plains surrounding Bungle Bungle; the grassy plain of the Ord River, located in the eastern and southern parts of the park; limestone cliffs in the west and east of the national park

The main attraction of the park is the rock formations of the Bangle Bungle Range, which, as a result of erosion over 20 million years, have formed cones resembling hives. These formations have a banded structure: bright orange sandstone alternates with dark stripes reaching a width of several meters and a thickness of several millimeters. All of them are formed from blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, which are closest to the oldest microorganisms on Earth.

The bright orange stripes of sandstone, in contrast to the dark stripes, have low permeability during the rainy season and protect formations from accelerated erosion. In addition, they contain iron oxides and manganese, which give these bands a brighter orange hue.

Karst formations on the territory of the national park are of great scientific importance, as they are a vivid demonstration of the process of formation of cone-shaped karst formations from sandstone (a phenomenon that has been little studied by geomorphologists until now).

The national park is located between the arid desert regions of Central Australia and the monsoon savannah climate. Northern Australia There are two distinct seasons in the year: a hot and humid summer, which lasts from November to March (the average maximum temperature in October is about 38.3 ° C), and a long dry winter from April to October (the average maximum temperature in July reaches 29, 1 ° C,)

Average annual rainfall in the region hovers around 600 mm

The flora and fauna of the Purnululu National Park has a number of its own characteristics. It is home to species belonging to two different ecosystems: the northern tropical savannas and the continental arid deserts.

The vegetation is dominated by woodlands and spinifex meadows with numerous eucalyptus trees, acacias and grevilleas.

In addition, there are ferns, orchids, palms. In general, 653 species of plants are registered in the park, 13 of which are relics. The fauna of the region is represented by 41 species of mammals, 149 species of birds, 81 species of reptiles, 12 species of frogs and 15 species of fish.

For a very long time, the territory of the modern national park was little explored by Europeans, although for the indigenous inhabitants of Australia, Australian aborigines, it was of great economic and cultural importance (about 200 rock paintings and burials were found in the park).

Largely due to the low interest of the European colonialists, it was possible to avoid the extermination of the indigenous people, who are represented by two groups of Australian aboriginal tribes. Although, in general, the aborigines subsequently suffered greatly from imported diseases, firearms and the destruction of the ecosystem. The first pastoralists appeared in the area only in 1884.

And the rock formations of the Bangle Bungle ridge, resembling hives in shape, were discovered by the white population of Australia only in 1982, when an airplane with a group of filmmakers flew over them.

Blue Mountains National Park

Australia's Blue Mountains National Park is part of an extensive mountain system stretching along the entire eastern and southeastern coast of the continent

This is the most picturesque part of the Great Dividing Range, although, in principle, there are almost no mountains in the Blue Mountains National Park, just a few beautiful plateaus and cliffs, and most of the park is occupied by deep green valleys with rivers and lakes

Due to its inaccessibility to humans, the Blue Mountains National Park is home to countless rare species of plants, which are millions of years old (for example, the Wollemi pine, which has been growing here since the days of the dinosaurs), and there are many corresponding animal species.

The sandstone plateau with a total area of ​​1.03 million hectares is dissected by cliffs and gorges and covered with eucalyptus forests. The monument includes 8 protected areas and provides a visual representation of how the evolutionary development of eucalyptus trees in Australia took place in the period after the separation from the ancient mainland of Gondwana. There are 91 species of eucalyptus in the Blue Mountains.

The world of Australian flora is widely represented here, ten percent of which are vascular plants, as well as many endangered species, including endemics and relics, such as the rare Wollemi pine, which has survived only in inaccessible corners.

Reserve. Photos

The Blue Mountains National Park has about 400 species of animals, including the rare tiger koala, yellow-tailed marsupial flying squirrel and long-nosed kangaroo mouse, as well as the green and golden tree frog, and the water lizard found only here.

Also, 13% of all eucalyptus varieties on the planet grow here, so the Blue Mountains National Park can be called a real natural laboratory for the study of eucalyptus trees)

Where did this name come from? It turns out that the whole thing is in those very eucalyptus groves, the oil vapors of which in hot weather make the air more bluish due to a change in the angle of refraction of the sun's rays

The height of the Blue Mountains National Park ranges from 20 meters above sea level at the lowest point (Nepeana River) to 1215 meters at the highest (Mount Verong)

The national park was formed in 1959, today it covers an area of ​​about 270 thousand hectares, and is one of the most popular places among tourists - even night excursions are found here

The Blue Mountains National Park is part of the so-called Blue Mountains Territory, which covers a total of 10,300 km2. If you compare with the size of the countries, then this is about a third of Belgium or two Brunei! Seven national parks are concentrated on this territory at once, including Jenolan Caves, Wollemi, Yengo, Nattai National Parks, Kenengra Boyda Park, Stone Gardens, Turlmere Lakes and, in fact, the Blue (Blue) Mountains themselves