Alexander Morrison National Park is a national park in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, located north of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in the

Shire of Coorow The Shire of Coorow is a local government area located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, about north of Perth, the state capital, and about south of the city of Geraldton. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is ...

along the Green Head-Coorow Road. It was named for Alexander Morrison, the first Government Botanist of Western Australia.

Description

The park contains sandplains and low

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

breakaways over

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

s and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

s of the

Lower Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma ...

Cockleshell Gully Formation. Sand

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

s are the dominant vegetation, but the park also contains extensive stands of low woodland and mallee typical of the area, especially in the western parts of the park. Prominent eucalypt species in the area are Powder-barked Wandoo (''

Eucalyptus accedens ''Eucalyptus accedens'', commonly known as smooth bark wandoo or powderbark wandoo is a species of tree endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Although the common names suggest it is similar to wandoo, (''Eucalyptus wandoo''), the two ...

'') and Mallalie ('' E. eudesmoides''), while the heaths are rich in species typical of the region and include rare species such as spiral bush ('' Spirogardnera rubescens''). The northern variant of ''

Banksia vestita ''Banksia vestita'', commonly known as summer dryandra, is a species of shrub that is Endemism, endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has broadly linear, wikt:pinnatifid, pinnatifid leaves with sharply pointed teeth on both sides, ye ...

'' is also common.

History

Land for the national park was set aside by the Department of Lands and Surveys under Reserves ↑26800, ↑26803 and ↑26804 on 23 May 1969, and over 1970 and 1971, the land was classified as an "A" Class reserve, meaning its purpose could not be changed except by an Act of Parliament, and vested in the National Parks Authority of Western Australia. The park was officially named on 8 October 1971. (Reserves 26800, 26803 and 26804)
* See also 29 January 1971 p. 1971:278, 19 February 1971 p. 1971:452.
* The Environmental Protection Authority recommended in 1974 that a one-kilometre-wide strip of vacant Crown land on the south side of Green Head-Coorow Road be added to the reserve – however, this was not actioned.

References

{{authority control National parks of Western Australia Protected areas established in 1970 Mid West (Western Australia)