Blue Mountains National Park
| Blue Mountains National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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| Nearest town/city | Katoomba |
| Coordinates | 33°58′04″S 150°18′15″E / 33.96778°S 150.30417°E |
| Area | 268,987 ha[1] |
| Established | 1 October 1967 |
| Visitation | 563,000 (in 2009) |
| Managing authorities | New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service |
| Official site | Blue Mountains National Park |
The Blue Mountains National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 81 km west of Sydney, and located in the Blue Mountains region of the Great Dividing Range. The park covers 268,987 hectares.[1] The boundary of the park is quite irregular as it is broken up by roads, urban areas and inholdings. Despite the name 'mountains', the area is an uplifted plateau, dissected by a number of larger rivers. The highest point in the park is Mount Werong (1,215 m), while the low point is on the Nepean River (20 m) as it leaves the park.
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[edit] History
The genesis of the national park was a proposal by early conservationist Myles Dunphy for a Greater Blue Mountains National Park in 1932. This included large areas of what are today the Blue Mountains National Park, Wollemi National Park, Kanangra-Boyd National Park, Nattai National Park along with other smaller National Parks. In 1959 the Blue Mountains National Park was declared.[2] In 2000 it was included as part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
[edit] Geography
The Blue Mountains National Park lies on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range. The plateau slopes gently down from west to east from a height of around 1,100 m near Mt Victoria to less than 200 m around Glenbrook. There are four major rivers that have most of their catchment inside the park: the Wollangambe River in the north, the Grose River in the centre, and the Coxs and Wollondilly Rivers in the south. The latter two flow into Lake Burragorang, which is located just outside the park and is the site of Warragamba Dam, the major source of drinking water for Sydney. A small section of the Nepean River passes through the park. All of the major rivers flow from west to east.
[edit] Geology
Structurally, the Blue Mountains are part of the greater Sydney Basin. The Sydney Basin consists of layers of sedimentary rocks laid down over the past 300 million years. The Blue Mountains and Great Dividing Range were formed about 50 million years when the area was uplifted.[3] More recently, volcanic flows covered large areas of the mountains in basalt. These have largely worn away, leaving only occasional outcrops on the high peaks.
[edit] Animal
There are several larger mammal species found in the park.Koalas were quite abundant around 1900 and a few may still persist in the park. The largest predators are Dingos. In addition there are alien species, like Red Foxes, feral cats, horses and cattle, which have been introduced to Australia in the last centuries. The largest bird of the area is the Emu.
[edit] Tourism
The Blue Mountains National Park is one of the most popular in Australia. The majority of tourists to the Blue Mountains see the national park from one of the many lookouts between Wentworth Falls and Blackheath, and many of these never actually set foot in the park. Activities for the visitor include short walks to lookouts above cliffs and waterfalls, overnight and longer walks to more remote areas of the park, canyoning, abseiling, rock climbing and mountain biking. A number of adventure tour companies can assist visitors in safely experiencing these activities.[3]
The most famous attraction in the park is the Three Sisters rock formation. Around Blackheath the cliffs are the most spectacular as the rock faces are several hundreds metres tall.[3] In 1999, 1.045 million visits were recorded in the park.[4] Since then visitor numbers have declined to 563,000 in 2009.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Blue Mountains National Park – History since colonisation". DECC National Park website. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHistory.aspx?id=N0004. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- ^ a b c Hema Maps (1997). Discover Australia's National Parks. Milsons Point, New South Wales: Random House Australia. pp. 102—105. ISBN 1975992472.
- ^ a b "Australia weighs conservation vs tourism in Blue Mountains". cnn.com (Cable News Network). 25 November 2010. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/22/australia.blue.mountains/index.html. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mountain Scenery, New South Wales |
- National Park Official Website
- Aerial video footage of the Blue Mountains National Park (NSW, Australia) around the Jamison Valley
- Blue Mountains National Park travel guide from Wikitravel
- Activities and Attractions in the Blue Mountains
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