Carnarvon Gorge is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

(

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 ...

), 593 km northwest of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, located in

Carnarvon National Park Carnarvon National Park is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in the Maranoa Region in Central Queensland, Australia. The park is 593 km northwest of Brisbane. It began life as a reserve gazetted in 1932 to protect Carnarvon ...

, and six hundred metres deep at the mouth. It is the most visited feature within

due to the diversity of experiences it contains and the ease with which it can be accessed. The closest towns are

Injune Injune is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Injune had a population of 461 people. Geography Injune is a small town in South West Queensland. I ...

and

Rolleston Rolleston may refer to: Places * Rolleston, Queensland, Australia * Rolleston, Leicestershire, England * Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England ** Rolleston railway station * Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England ** Rolleston Hall * Rolleston, ...

. In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q15 ...

celebrations, the Carnarvon Gorge was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years. ...

of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction".

History

Some western researchers have suggested that

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

did not live in the gorge permanently, due to defensive concerns and lack of food resources, whilst others suggest that permanent occupation was not allowed due to the gorge being considered sacred. The

dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Ja ...

stories tell a tale of the

Rainbow Serpent The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion ...

which made the gorges, and which resides in their permanent waterholes to this day.

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

was the first European explorer to pass nearby and make note of the ranges, during his expedition to Port Essington in 1844. Two years later, Thomas Mitchell passed to the west of Carnarvon Gorge. It was Mitchell who named the

Carnarvon Range 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. Geography North eastern parts of the range have formed a plateau kno ...

, possibly after

Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, FRS (8 June 1800 – 10 December 1849), styled Lord Porchester from 1811 to 1833, was a British writer, traveller, nobleman, and politician. Background and education Herbert was born in London ...

. The reports of pastureland and good water carried back to the colonies brought settlers to the area, and began a period of bloody conflict between settlers and Aboriginals. By the late 1870s the newcomers had prevailed. Local Aboriginals sought refuge on properties run by those sympathetic to their plight. Subsequent years would see many forcibly removed from their homelands and transferred to government and church run reserves and missions. The latter process of removal is considered by some to have been, culturally, more destructive than the direct conflict that preceded it. The farming of cattle and growing of crops remains a vibrant industry around Carnarvon Gorge but, since 1932 when it was gazetted as a National Park,Duffy, Helen (ed). (2007). ''Explore Australia's National Parks'', pp. 184–185. such activities have no longer been allowed in the gorge itself. In 1974, the Ka Ka Mundi area which had been heavily grazed for about a century, also became part of the park. In place of the grazing of cattle, a tourism industry has grown. Over 70,000 visitors per annum make the trek to Carnarvon Gorge.

Features

Within the lower ten kilometres of the Gorge, visitors can encounter a variety of cultural and natural values that, elsewhere in the region, would require considerable travel to experience; significant Indigenous cultural sites and rock art sites, narrow sandstone canyons, extensive sandstone cliff lines, basalt-capped tablelands and mountain ranges, and relict rainforest vegetation.

Tracks, trails, and sites

There is a ten kilometre (10 km) track leading into Carnarvon Gorge, with diversions into specific sites such as the Art Gallery, Big Bend, Wards Canyon, Cathedral Cave, the Amphitheatre and the Moss Garden. In the mouth of Carnarvon Gorge, there are another five sites to visit; Boolimba Bluff, the Nature Trail, the Rockpool, Mickey Creek Gorge and Baloon Cave ''(closed due to bushfire damage in December, 2018)''. Several remote tracks exist for experienced walkers; the Ranch, the Devil's Signpost, and Battleship Spur.

Rocks and landscapes

Situated within the Central Queensland Sandstone Belt, and separating the Consuelo Tableland and the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, Carnarvon Gorge's landscapes have largely been shaped by water erosion. Over the last twenty seven million years Carnarvon Creek, which winds for over , has carved down through six hundred metres of stone, exposing rocks from three significant phases of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

's geological history including two sedimentary basins, the Bowen and the

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

, and the Buckland Volcanic Province. The youngest rocks in the area are the igneous basalt rocks of the Buckland volcanic Province which were laid down between 35-27 million years ago to depths of up to 300 metres. The basalt layer is present on top of the high country either side of the Gorge where it protects the landscape from erosion and generates significantly different soils to those derived from the lower sedimentary rocks. Boulders eroded from the basalt layer dominate the Gorge's waterways due to their ability to resist water erosion better than the sedimentary rocks they once overlaid. The most visible rocks in the Gorge belong to the

Surat Basin The Surat Basin is a geological basin in eastern Australia. It is part of the Great Artesian Basin drainage basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a lar ...

, which holds most of

's gas and oil and significant amounts of groundwater. The

forms part of the

Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin (GAB), located in Australia, is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over , with measured water temperatures ranging from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much ...

, and generates numerous springs within the Gorge. The oldest component in the

is the porous Precipice Sandstone, which forms the Gorge's spectacular cliffs. The Precipice Sandstone is one of the primary intake beds for the

, giving the area where it lies exposed significance as a replenishment zone. Below the Precipice Sandstone, the Gorge's floor is formed by the uppermost layer of the

Bowen Basin The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal-producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland includ ...

, the Moolayember Formation. The impermeability of this layer allows the water generated by Carnarvon Gorge's springs to remain close to, or above, the surface - a significant interplay in terms of the availability of water within the Gorge's ecosystems. Carnarvon Creek, whose flow has only been known to stop twice since records commenced, is an incredibly reliable source of water. In times of drought, it turns the Gorge into an oasis which has supported forms of life long since passed from the semi-arid ecosystems surrounding it. Each of the rock strata exposed in the Gorge erodes and weathers according to its own characteristics, and the variety of soil types and landforms generated goes a long way towards explaining why Carnarvon Gorge supports such a diversity of life.

Climate

Carnarvon Gorge's climate is considerably different from that experienced in the flatter terrain surrounding it. Average rainfall in the Gorge is higher at 1,000 millimetres per annum and temperatures on the Gorge floor are more moderate. The lowest temperature recorded in the Gorge is -2 °C, whereas temperatures lower than -5 °C are experienced within 5 kilometres of its mouth. Average July temperature range is 6.3 °C – 20.9 °C, and average January temperature range is 20.5 °C – 35.5 °C. Statistically, the wettest month is February and the driest is August. These figures should always be considered in the context of

's notoriously unpredictable climate. For example, between October 2007 and February 2008, Carnarvon Gorge received 1,400 millimetres of rainfall; 140% of its annual average.

Flora

Three broad vegetation types are present in Carnarvon Gorge; eucalypt and angophora dominated woodland to open woodland; mixed eucalypt, acacia, white cypress pine or turpentine woodlands and/or open forests on sandstone slopes, scarps, ridges and residuals; cleared and/or regrowth areas.Grant, Claire. 2005. "Carnarvon Gorge - Management Plan" pp 6-9. Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland. Four regional ecosystems listed as of concern are easily encountered by visitors to Carnarvon Gorge: Queensland blue gum woodland on alluvial plains; silver-leaved ironbark woodland on alluvial plains; Queensland blue gum, river she-oak fringing woodland on alluvial plains; and tall open forest in sheltered gorges and moist habitats. Two plant species, in particular, are considered Carnarvon Gorge icons; the cycad ''

Macrozamia moorei ''Macrozamia moorei'' is a cycad in the family Zamiaceae, native to Queensland ( Australia). The species was described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1881, naming it after Charles Moore (1820–1905), director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydne ...

'' (no common name) and the Carnarvon fan palm ('' Livistona nitida''). ''Macrozamia moorei'' is closely associated with the Tertiary basalt flows of the Buckland Volcanic Province, and is endemic to Central Queensland. ''Livistona nitida'' is endemic to the springs and waterways of the Dawson River catchment, and Carnarvon Gorge is considered its stronghold. Several plants occur in disjunct populations, or approach the limits of their distribution, within Carnarvon Gorge such as the isolated colony of king ferns (''

Angiopteris evecta ''Angiopteris evecta'', commonly known as the king fern, giant fern, elephant fern, oriental vessel fern, Madagascar tree fern, or mule's Foot fern, is a very large rainforest fern in the family Marattiaceae native to most parts of Southeast Asi ...

'') found in Wards Canyon and the stately Sydney blue gum (''

Eucalyptus saligna ''Eucalyptus saligna'', commonly known as the Sydney blue gum or blue gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, flaky bark near the base of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped to c ...

'') found in the Gorge's wettest habitats.

Fauna

Mammals

Carnarvon Gorge has a rich mammalian fauna including Australia's two monotremes, the

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...

(''Ornithorhyncus anatinus'') and the

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

(''Tachyglossus aculeatus''). Macropod species include the eastern grey kangaroo (''Macropus giganteus''), the pretty-faced wallaby (''Macropus parryi''), the

swamp wallaby The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the black wallaby, with other names including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Q ...

(''Wallabia bicolor''), the wallaroo or euro (''Macropus robustus''), the

red-necked wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been ...

, (''Macropus rufogriseus''), and the

rufous bettong The rufous rat-kangaroo or rufous bettong (''Aepyprymnus rufescens'') is a small, jumping, rat-like mammal native to eastern Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Aepyprymnus''. The largest member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroida ...

(''Aepyprymnus rufescens'').

Gliders

Five of Australia's seven species of glider occur here; the greater glider (''Petauroides volans''), the

yellow-bellied glider The yellow-bellied glider (''Petaurus australis''), also known as the fluffy glider, is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in native eucalypt forests in eastern Australia, from northern Queensland south to Victoria. Habitat ...

(''Petaurus australis''), the

squirrel glider The squirrel glider (''Petaurus norfolcensis'') is a nocturnal gliding possum. The squirrel glider is one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus ''Petaurus''. Habitat This species' home range extends from Bordertown near the South Australia ...

(''Petaurus norfolcensis''), the

sugar glider The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability ...

(''Petaurus breviceps''), and the

feathertail glider The feathertail glider (''Acrobates pygmaeus''), also known as the pygmy gliding possum, pygmy glider, pygmy phalanger, flying phalanger and flying mouse, is a species of marsupial native to eastern Australia. It is the world's smallest gliding ...

(''Acrobates pygmaeus''). Currawongs carnarvon gorge 1994 email

Over 180 species of bird have been recorded within the Gorge, from the tiny weebill (''Smicrornis brevirostris'') to the

wedge-tailed eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

(''Aquila audax''). Some of the Gorge's birds have become habituated to humans, due to hand-feeding which is against Park regulations. This situation is of concern to Park rangers as it allows opportunistic species, such as the

laughing kookaburra The laughing kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light ...

(''Dacelo novaeguineae'') and the

pied currawong The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') is a black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Strepera'', it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of ...

(''Strepera graculina''), to develop population sizes that are abnormally large. When visitation (and therefore hand-feeding) tapers off over the summer low tourism season the abnormal populations place abnormal pressure on the species' natural food sources which can include the young of other bird species.

Australian bustard The Australian bustard (''Ardeotis australis'') is a large ground dwelling bird which is common in grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It stands at about high, and its wingspan is ...

s (''Ardeotis australis'') are frequently seen in farmland on approach to the Gorge, along with

brolga The brolga (''Antigone rubicunda''), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithologist John Gould in his ''Birds of Austral ...

s if the weather has been wet. Communally breeding birds, such as the

white-winged chough The white-winged chough (''Corcorax melanorhamphos'') is one of only two surviving members of the Australian mud-nest builders family, Corcoracidae, and is the Monotypic taxon, only member of the genus ''Corcorax''. It is native to southern and e ...

, the

(''Dacelo novaeguineae''), and the

apostlebird The apostlebird (''Struthidea cinerea''), also known as the grey jumper, lousy jack, happy jack, Donny bird or caw bird is a quick-moving, gray or black bird about 33 cm (13 in) long. It is a native to Australia where it roams woodlands ...

(''Struthidea cinerea''), are a feature of the ecosystems around the entrance to Carnarvon Gorge.

Peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

s (''Falco peregrinus'') and

s patrol the cliffs further into the Gorge whilst, below, numerous parrots and honeyeaters forage amongst the eucalypt canopy. Closer to ground level, visitors are likely to encounter the

Australian raven The Australian raven (''Corvus coronoides'') is a passerine bird in the genus ''Corvus'' native to much of southern and northeastern Australia. Measuring in length, it has all-black plumage, beak and mouth, as well as strong grey-black legs and ...

(''Corvus coronoides'') and the

(''Strepera graculina'') anywhere they stop to eat. Along the walking tracks many smaller species will be present in the ground cover and understory including

red-browed finch The red-browed finch (''Neochmia temporalis'') is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savannah habitats. It may ...

es (''Neochmia temporalis''),

white-browed scrubwren The white-browed scrubwren (''Sericornis frontalis'') is a passerine bird found on the New England Tablelands and coastal areas of Australia. Placed in the family Pardalotidae in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this has met with opposition and in ...

s (''Sericornis frontalis''), and several species of thornbill.

Reptiles and amphibians

Over 90 species of reptile and 22 species of frog are known to inhabit the National Park. The most commonly encountered snakes in the Gorge are the keelback ('' Tropidonophis mairii''), the green tree snake (''

Dendrelaphis punctulata ''Dendrelaphis punctulatus'', also known commonly as the Australian tree snake, the common tree snake, and the green tree snake, is a species of slender, large-eyed, diurnal, non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native ...

'') and the carpet python (''

Morelia spilota ''Morelia spilota'', commonly referred to as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are ...

''). The largest lizards in the Gorge are the lace monitor ('' Varanus varius'') and the sand monitor ('' Varanus gouldii''). Of the wide variety of skinks, the largest is the major skink (''

Egernia major The land mullet (''Bellatorias major'') is one of the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae). Description The species may reach total lengths of up to 60 cm (23.6 inches). They are uniform glossy black to brown, with a paler ring ...

'') which occurs in a disjunct population. The most frequently encountered of the Gorge's frogs are the tusked frog ('' Adelotus brevis''), the striped marsh frog (''

Limnodynastes peronii The striped marsh frog or brown-striped frog (''Limnodynastes peronii'') is a predominantly aquatic frog native to coastal Eastern Australia. It is a common species in urban habitats. Taxonomy The striped marsh frog was described by French nat ...

''), and the cane toad ( ''Bufo Marinus''). The introduced cane toad is currently implicated in the local disappearance of the northern quoll, once thought extinced all over QLD, a small population was established not long ago after 30 years of not one sighting of this critter, was found on a spotting job( ''Dasyurus Hallucatus''). freshwater turtles such as Kreffts river turtle (''

Emydura ''Emydura'', the Australian short-necked turtles, are a genus of turtles in the family Chelidae. It was paraphyletic with ''Elseya''. Consequently, it was split into two genera '' Myuchelys'' and ''Elseya'' by Thomson & Georges, 2009.Thomson, ...

'' ''krefftii'') and the saw-shelled turtle ('' wollumbinia'' ''latisternum'') are in strong numbers in Carnarvon Creek, commonly seen sunning themselves on rocks and logs during the middle of the day.

Invertebrates

The National Park's invertebrate species are extremely diverse. Several species of insect have their entire distribution within the Park's boundaries, and are joined in this category by at least four species of land snail. Butterflies are a feature of Carnarvon Gorge's fauna. Large aggregations of common crow (''

Euploea core File:Euploea core at thachangad.jpg ''Euploea core'', the common crow, is a common butterfly found in South Asia to Australia. In India it is also sometimes referred to as the common Indian crow, and in Australia as the Australian crow. It belon ...

'') butterflies can occur in Carnarvon's cool, moist side gorges when the animals gather to overwinter. Carnarvon Creek is also home to large numbers of invertebrates, many of which are the larval stages of winged insects such as dragonflies. Visitors to Wards Canyon have the opportunity to observe these creatures easily in the clear, shallow, spring-fed stream.

Services and facilities

QPWS has a base at Carnarvon Gorge attached to the National Park Visitor Centre. The Visitor Centre is open 8am to 4pm every day and offers free wifi. The Carnarvon Gorge Day Use Area has picnic tables and toilet facilities and parking facilities for cars, motorhomes, and caravans. The Carnarvon Gorge Camping Area only opens during the Easter, Winter and Spring Queensland School Holiday Periods. The Big Bend Camping Area is open year-round. A variety of accommodation options are available including cabins, caravan and motorhome sites and camping. Commercial tours of the gorge are available.

Footnotes

References

*Australian Nature Guides (2019). ''Carnarvon Gorge Information.'
www.carnarvongorge.info
*Beeston, J.W. & Grey, A.R.G. (1993). ''The Ancient Rocks of Carnarvon Gorge''. Department of Minerals and Energy, Queensland. *Duffy, Helen (ed). (2007). ''Explore Australia's National Parks''. Prahran, Victoria: Explore Australia Publishing. . *Grant, Claire. (2005). ''Carnarvon Gorge - Management Plan''. Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland. *Ling, Simon. 2000-2008
www.ausnatureguides.com
Australian Nature Guides. *Walsh, G.L. (1983). ''The Roof of Queensland''. Queensland University Press. *Walsh, G. L. (1999). ''Carnarvon and Beyond''. Takarakka Nowan Kas Publications. *Warner, C. (1987). ''Exploring Queensland's Central Highlands''. Charles Warner.

External links

{{coord, 25, 01, 54.58, S, 148, 11, 00.02, E, display=title, region:AU_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Canyons and gorges of Queensland Rock art in Australia Central Queensland