Eucla 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 ...
, east 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 i ...
.
The southern edge of the park borders a section of the
Great Australian Bight
The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia.
Extent
Two definitions of the extent are in use – one used by the International Hydrog ...
. Other notable features of the park include Wilson Bluff and Delisser sandhills.
The area is composed of
mallee scrub and
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 a ...
vegetation, typical of the southern coast. Wildflowers such as Cockie's Tongue (''
Templetonia retusa''), with its distinctive red, pink or yellow flowers are common throughout the park. A rare plant species of
senecio
''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels.
Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants.
Description
Mor ...
that is native to the limestone cliff area is known to exist in the park.
Access to the area is via the
Eyre Highway
Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highways 1 and A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It ...
found on the northern border of the park. No facilities are available for visitors in the park and no sealed roads exist within the park, only
4WD
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer ca ...
tracks.
No camping is permitted within the park; the nearest camping facilities are at
Eucla and
Border Village
Border Village is a settlement located in South Australia within the locality of Nullarbor on the Eyre Highway at the border with Western Australia.
The settlement, which is 12 km east of Eucla, was named in 1993 by the South Australian ...
.
Historical ruins such as the Eucla
Telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
station and the original Eucla township can be found at the western end of the park. Both are partially buried by encroaching
sand dunes.
See also
*
Protected areas of Western Australia
Western Australia is the second largest country subdivision in the world. It contains no fewer than separate Protected Areas with a total area of (land area: – 6.30% of the state’s area). Ninety-eight of these are National Parks, totalli ...
References
Gallery
Image:Eucla coast from pass.jpg, Overlooking coast near Eucla from Eucla Pass
Image:Euclasanddune.JPG, Sand dunes near Eucla
{{authority control
National parks of Western Australia
Protected areas established in 1979
Hampton bioregion
Great Australian Bight
Nullarbor Plain