Lathami Conservation Park is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the

Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

on the north coast of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

located in the locality of Cassini about east of

Stokes Bay Stokes Bay ( grid ref.:)) (50.782982, -1.163868) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of Ryde and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight to the ...

and about north of

Parndana Parndana is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island about southwest of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about southwest of the municipal seat of Kingscote, South Australia ...

. It was proclaimed on 1 October 1987 to protect important nesting and foraging habitat for the

Glossy Black Cockatoo The glossy black cockatoo (''Calyptorhynchus lathami''), is the smallest member of the subfamily Calyptorhynchinae found in eastern Australia. Adult glossy black cockatoos may reach in length. They are sexually dimorphic. Males are blackish bro ...

(''Calyptorhynchus lathami''), after which the conservation park was named.

Description

The conservation park has an area of . The southern sector has soils typical of the island's

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 ...

plateau, grading northwards into shallow grey-brown sands and rocky outcrops. The two main watercourses, Deep Gully and Gum Creek, cut deeply into the underlying rocks, forming gorges with semi-permanent waterholes along parts of their lengths. On the higher parts of the conservation park, the vegetation is mainly a tall

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

of ''

Eucalyptus baxteri ''Eucalyptus baxteri'', commonly known as brown stringybark, is a medium-sized tree that is endemic the south-east of Australia. It has rough, stringy bark to the thinnest branches, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, green to yellow flower bud ...

'' over '' Xanthorrhoea tateana'', ''

Melaleuca uncinata ''Melaleuca uncinata'', commonly known as broombush, broom honeymyrtle or brushwood, is a plant in the paperbark family native to southern Australia. It is harvested from the wild, and grown in plantations, for broombush fencing. The Noongar nam ...

'' and ''

Allocasuarina muelleriana ''Allocasuarina muelleriana'', commonly known as the slaty sheoak, is a small tree of the genus ''Allocasuarina'' native to South Australia and Victoria. The fast growing dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a spec ...

'', interspersed with '' E. cladocalyx''

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. The lower parts are characterised by an open forest of ''E. cladocalyx'' and '' E. leucoxylon'', with areas of '' A. verticillata'' woodland near the coast. The conservation park is classified as an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Category Ia protected area.

References

External links

Lathami Conservation Park webpage on protected planet
Protected areas of Kangaroo Island Conservation parks of South Australia Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in Australia {{SouthAustralia-protected-area-stub