Bald Rock National Park
| Bald Rock National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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| Nearest town/city | Tenterfield |
| Coordinates | 28°51′9″S 152°03′20″E / 28.8525°S 152.05556°ECoordinates: 28°51′9″S 152°03′20″E / 28.8525°S 152.05556°E |
| Area | 8,883 ha[1] |
| Established | 1971 |
| Managing authorities | NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service |
| Official site | http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au |
Bald Rock National Park is a national park in northern New South Wales, Australia, just north of Tenterfield on the Queensland border. On the other side of the border the national park continues as the Girraween National Park.
The park is named after its most prominent feature, Bald Rock, which is a large granite outcrop rising about 200 metres above the surrounding landscape. Measuring about 750 metres long and 500 metres wide this is the largest granite monolith in Australia.[2] Access to the rock is provided by a sealed road into the park and walking tracks to the summit. Two tracks are marked, a steep one up the exposed face, or an easier gradient through bushland around the back. The summit offers panoramic views of the surrounding bushland, but vegetation on top prevents a full 360° view.
The park is in the New England granite belt, where about 220 million years ago an episode of granite magmatism resulted in the intrusion of the Stanthorpe Adamellite into the surrounding metamorphic and sedimentary rock. Subsequent uplift and erosion of the New England Fold Belt has seen the majority of the surrounding sediments and metamorphic rocks eroded away, with the Stanthorpe Adamellite remaining due to its resistance to weathering.
This regolith has created a landscape with many exposed inselbergs of granite rocks, some balancing on top of each other, or forming natural arches. The walking track going up the back of Bald Rock leads through such an arch.
Just off the road beside the park is Thunderbolts Hideout, a set of caves and overhanging granite rocks. It was thought to have been used by bushranger Captain Thunderbolt.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Department of Environment Climate Change and Water Annual Report 2009-10. Department of Environment Climate Change and Water. November 2010. pp. 274–275. ISSN 1838-5958. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/whoweare/deccwar10.htm.
- ^ Readers Digest Guide to Australian Places, Readers Digest, Sydney
- Bald Rock National Park at the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
- Captain Thunderbolts Hideout at NSW Schools Country Area Program
