Washpool National Park New South Wales | |
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Nearest town or city | Grafton |
Coordinates | 29°20′49″S 152°19′58″E / 29.34694°S 152.33278°E |
Established | April 1983 |
Area | 587 km2 (226.6 sq mi) |
Managing authorities | NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service |
Website | Washpool National Park |
See also | Protected areas of New South Wales |
The Washpool National Park is a protected national park located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The 58,678-hectare (145,000-acre) park is situated approximately 520 kilometres (320 mi) north of Sydney, inland from Grafton. The park has two campgrounds and is managed by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. It was established in 1983 to preserve the significant plant and animal populations found in the Washpool and Gibraltar Range forests.[1] In 1999 the park was expanded to include areas that had previously been threatened with logging, which a court injunction put to a stop to in 1990.[2]
The Park is part of the Washpool and Gibraltar Range area of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007.
This natural habitat is full of diversity of plants, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds.[3]
The average elevation of the terrain is 704 metres.[4] Average summer temperatures range between 14 °C and 26 °C, and winter temperatures between 2 °C and 15 °C.[5]