Dulcie Range is a national park in the
Northern Territory of Australia
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
, 220 km north-east of
Alice Springs and 1235 km southeast of territorial capital of
Darwin.
The park lies along the south-western edge of Dulcie Range. It was first declared in 1991 and again in July 2012.
A draft Plan of Management was published by the
Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory __NOTOC__
Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory (also known as the ''Parks and Wildlife Division'' in some sources) is the Northern Territory Government agency responsible for tasks including the establishment of "parks, reserv ...
in May 2001.
History
The first recorded European visitor to the area was Charles Winnecke in 1878. In 1916 the chief surveyor of the Northern Territory, T. E. Day surveyed the range and named it Dulcie after one of his daughters. Around 1920 an early pastoral lease was taken out at Old Huckitta station, the remains of which are within the southern boundary of the park.
There was an established population of traditional aboriginal Akarre Arrernte people, evidenced by numerous rock art sites in the Dulcie Range. A plentiful supply of food resources and water supported the clans.
Description
The Range is a sandstone plateau standing from 50 to 150 metres above the surrounding plain in the
Georgina Basin
The Georgina Basin is a large (c. 330,000 km2) intracratonic sedimentary basin in central and northern Australia, lying mostly within the Northern Territory and partly within Queensland.Smith, KG (1972). "Stratigraphy of the Georgina Basin. ...
. Typical of the plains flora are
mulga shrub-lands, mallee eucalypt, open woodland and
spinifex. The plateau comprises steep sided cliffs, gorges and scree of the predominant Dulcie Sandstone, with numerous watercourses. Recorded in the park are 105 species of bird, 32 of reptiles, 2 of frogs and 3 of fish.
[
]
See also
* Protected areas of the Northern Territory
The protected areas of the Northern Territory consists of protected areas managed by the governments of the Northern Territory and Australia and private organisations with a reported total area of being 24.8% of the total area of the Northern Te ...
* Horn Expedition led by C. Winnecke
* Huckitta (meteorite)
* Boxhole crater
Boxhole is a young impact crater located approximately 180 km (265 km by road) north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is 170 metres in diameter and its age is estimated to be 5,400 ± 1,500 years based on the ...
References
National parks of the Northern Territory
Protected areas established in 1991
1991 establishments in Australia
{{Australia-protected-area-stub