''Burraga Swamp'' is situated beside Mount Lumeah in the

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area has ...

area in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is surrounded by

Antarctic beech Antarctic beech is a common name of two species in the genus ''Nothofagus'': *''Nothofagus antarctica'', native to South America *''Nothofagus moorei ''Nothofagus moorei'', commonly known as Antarctic beech, is an important Gondwana relict of t ...

cool temperate rainforest at an altitude of 985 metres above sea level. The swamp and surrounding forest was part of Chichester State Forest. However, in the 1980s the boundaries of the

Barrington Tops National Park The Barrington Tops National Park is a protected national park located in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. Gazetted in 1969, the park is situated between Scone, Singleton, Dungog, Gloucester and East Gresford. The park is part ...

were moved to include the area to the

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Gondwana Rainforests of Australia The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. Collectively, the rainforests are a World Heritage Site with fifty separate res ...

. The adjacent forest contains very tall Antarctic Beech trees, some as old as 2000 years.CMA Barrington Tops Gloucester Map - Department of Lands NSW Govt Mosses and ferns are prominent. Other tree species near the lake include golden sassafras, soft corkwood, prickly ash, possumwood and mountain walnut. The swamp was formed when a landslide fell from the western side of Mount Lumeah. The area initially filled as a lake. Then the basin filled with organic and sedimentary material. The swamp is vegetated by a variety of sedges and grasses. The swamp is of interest to

palaeobotanist Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...

s as the pollen records reveal a history of previous vegetation and clues to an earlier climate. Pollen samples indicated the dominance of the Antarctic Beech for only 6,000 years at this site. 17,000 years ago at the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

this area was much colder and with a lower rainfall. soft tree ferns became common 13,000 years ago. ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

'' appeared around 11,500 years ago and has only dominated the area for a surprisingly short period when the rainfall and temperatures were higher. The pollen sampling gives a good indication of the botany of the area for the past 40,000 years. In the colder days of the Last Glacial Maximum, the vegetation was mostly drier alpine plants.

References

{{Hunter Region places and items of interest Hunter Region Gondwana Rainforests of Australia Swamps of Australia Forests of New South Wales Wetlands of New South Wales