| Nambung National Park Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 The Pinnacles - natural limestone formations | |
  Nambung National Park | |
 | |
| Nearest town or city | Cervantes |
| Coordinates | 30°34′34″S 115°10′12″E / 30.57611°S 115.17000°E |
| Established | 1 July 1994[1] |
| Area | 192.68 km2 (74.4 sq mi)[2] |
| Managing authorities | Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions |
| Website | Nambung National Park |
| See also | List of protected areas of Western Australia |
Nambung National Park is a national park in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 200 km northwest of Perth, Australia and 17 km south of the small coastal town of Cervantes.[3] The park contains the Pinnacles Desert which is an area with thousands of limestone formations called pinnacles.[4]
The park derives its name from an indigenous Australian word possibly meaning crooked or winding. The word was used in 1938 when naming the Nambung River which flows into the park and disappears into a cave system within the limestone.[1] The Yued people are the acknowledged traditional custodians of the land since before the arrival of Europeans.[5]
Nambung National Park also contains beaches at Kangaroo Point and Hangover Bay, as well as coastal dunes and flowering plants in low heathland areas. A boardwalk in the northern area of the park at Lake Thetis allows visitors to view thrombolites which, like stromatolites, are structures built by micro-organisms, especially cyanobacteria.[5] Some of the fossilized thrombolites have been dated to 3.6 billion years old.[6] The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre features exhibits about the geology of the pinnacles formations and the cultural and natural heritage values of the area.[7]
- ^ a b "Nambung National Park Management Plan 1998-2008" (PDF). 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Department of Environment and Conservation 2009–2010 Annual Report". Annual Report. Department of Environment and Conservation: 48. 2010. ISSN 1835-114X. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "DPaW - Nambung map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ DPaW - Pinnacles Desert page
- ^ a b DPaW - Nambung homepage
- ^ "DPaW - Cervantes & Jurien Bay". Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ DPaW - Desert Discovery Centre page