Blackdown Tableland National Park Queensland | |
---|---|
IUCN category II (national park) | |
View from the top of Blackdown Tableland | |
Nearest town or city | Dingo |
Coordinates | 23°43′25″S149°03′37″E / 23.72361°S 149.06028°E Coordinates: 23°43′25″S149°03′37″E / 23.72361°S 149.06028°E |
Established | 1991 |
Area | 320 km2 (123.6 sq mi) |
Managing authorities | Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service |
Website | Blackdown Tableland National Park |
See also | Protected areas of Queensland |
Blackdown Tableland is a national park in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. [1]
The park is in Central Queensland, 576 km (358 mi) northwest of Brisbane. The mountainous terrain of the tablelands provides a unique landscape featuring gorges, waterfalls and diverse vegetation.
The Blackdown Tableland is a 900 m (3,000 ft) sandstone plateau rising abruptly from the plains below. Many creeks on the Tableland have developed gorges and waterfalls along their courses, the most notable of which drains in to the spectacular Rainbow Falls (Gudda Gumoo) over a 40 m (130 ft) drop. Some of the creeks on the Tableland are catchment fed by rain and often dry up, and some are spring fed and always flow even just a small amount. The national park is located in the north east of the central Queensland sandstone belt. [2]
The tablelands are positioned at the junction of the Shotover, Expedition and Dawson Ranges. [3] Evidence of folding is shown in the rises and depressions amongst the ranges.
It is the traditional home of the Ghungalu people, whose rock art can be found in the park. [2]
Wadja (also known as Wadjigu, Wadya, Wadjainngo, Mandalgu, and Wadjigun) is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensland. The language region includes the local government areas of the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda and Central Highlands Region, including the Blackdown Tablelands. the Comet River, and the Expedition Range, and the towns of Woorabinda, Springsure and Rolleston. [4]
The plateau has a more temperate, local climate than the surrounding plains, supporting open forests, heath, ferns, and a variety of plants and animals, several of which are not found anywhere else. Parts of the eastern tablelands have an average rainfall of 1,500 mm (59 in) per year. [3] Dense fog may shroud the plateau. [2]
Camping is permitted at Munall campground. [2] There are walking tracks leading to lookouts, heritage sites and creeks. Picnic facilities are available at Yaddamen Dhina lookout. [2]
Camping is available on Mimosa Creek in the Tableland, camping fees apply.
Access to the area was very limited until a road was constructed in 1969 by the Queensland Forest Department. [3] Entrance to the park is via a turn-off 11 km (6.8 mi) west of Dingo along the Capricorn Highway. [2]
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the fifth longest land-based range in the world. It runs roughly parallel to the East Coast of Australia and stretches more than 3,500 kilometres (2,175 mi) from Dauan Island in the Torres Strait off the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South Wales, then into Victoria and turning west, before finally fading into the central plain at the Grampians in western Victoria.
The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur regions, in New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 68,660-hectare (169,700-acre) national park is situated approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) south-west of Sydney and is contiguous with the Blue Mountains National Park and the Nattai National Park. The park was established in 1969.
The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The 145,223-hectare (358,850-acre) park is situated 445 kilometres (277 mi) north of Sydney and is named in memory of the Australian explorer John Oxley, who passed through the area in 1818 and is one of the largest national parks in New South Wales.
Boodjamulla National Park, formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park, is a national park in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site within the park.
The Springbrook National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. The 6,197-hectare (15,310-acre) park is situated on the McPherson Range, near Springbrook, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Brisbane. The park is part of the Shield Volcano Group of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.
New England or New England North West is the name given to a generally undefined region in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) inland, that includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions. The population of the region is 202,160 (2006), with over a quarter of the population being from Tamworth Regional Council.
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coast west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional Council southern boundary, and south to Gladstone. The region is also known as Capricornia. It is one of Australia's main coal exporting regions.
Rolleston is a small town and locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia.
Springsure is a town and a locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 66 kilometres (41 mi) south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highway and the northern terminus of the Dawson Highway. It is 765 kilometres (475 mi) northwest of Brisbane. In the 2016 census, Springsure had a population of 1,103 people.
The Herbert River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it was named in 1864 by George Elphinstone Dalrymple explorer, after Robert George Wyndham Herbert, the first Premier of Queensland.
Woorabinda is a rural town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Woorabinda had a population of 962 people. It is an Aboriginal community.
Expedition Range is a mountain range within the Central Highlands sandstone region of Queensland, Australia. Robinson Creek cuts a 100 metres deep gorge through sandstone clifflines. Many spectacular side gorges add to the appeal of the area, which is included in the Expedition National Park.
The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England region, stretching from the Moonbi Range in the south to the Queensland border in the north. The region corresponds generally to the Bureau of Meteorology forecast area for the Northern Tablelands which in this case includes Inverell although it is significantly lower in elevation.
Carnarvon Gorge is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in Central Queensland (Australia), 593 km northwest of Brisbane. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, located in Carnarvon National Park, and six hundred metres deep at the mouth. It is the most visited feature within Carnarvon National Park due to the diversity of experiences it contains and the ease with which it can be accessed. The closest towns are Injune and Rolleston.
Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia.
The Comet River is a river located in Central Queensland, Australia.
The Carnarvon Range is a mountain range in Central Queensland, Australia. It is a plateau section of the Great Dividing Range. The Carnarvon Range is 160 km in length.
The Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda is a local government area in Central Queensland, Australia.
Bidjara, also spelt Bidyara or Pitjara, is an Australian Aboriginal language. In 1980, it was spoken by twenty elders in Queensland between the towns of Tambo and Augathella, or the Warrego and Langlo Rivers. The language is being revitalised and is being taught in local schools in the region.
Lawn Hill is an outback locality split between the Shire of Burke and the City of Mount Isa in Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. In the 2016 census Lawn Hill had a population of 19 people.