Werribee Gorge State Park
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Werribee Gorge State Park is a state park in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
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 located near
Bacchus Marsh Bacchus Marsh (Wathawurrung: ''Pullerbopulloke'') is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne and west of Melton, Victoria, Melton at a near equidistance to th ...
and is used by bushwalkers and rock climbers, who are attracted to its views and geological features.


Werribee Gorge

The main feature of this park is the Werribee Gorge, through which the
Werribee River The Werribee River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment that is located on the Werribee Plain, expansive lowland plain southwest of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg ...
meanders. This gorge has acquired some renown throughout the 20th century for its geological value. Werribee Gorge has attracted the attention of geologists last century as one of the earliest known ancient glacial deposits, parts of which can be seen. The 200m deep gorge was formed about a million years ago when movements along a fault in the Earth's crust steepened the river's gradient. Since then the stream has continued to deepen the gorge through underlying rock to ancient sediments deposited in a sea more than 400 million years ago. Other geological events that have since occurred include the advance and retreat of an ice sheet and the inflow of volcanic lava. There is a walking track which winds itself through the gorge, which is used by bushwalkers and locals.


Getting there

Werribee Gorge State Park is about 8 km west of Bacchus Marsh and can be approached by two routes. The first is via the Western Freeway and the Pentland Hills Road to Myers Road, a gravel road steep in places. This provides access to the Gorge itself. The second is via Ironbark Road (the Ballan-Ingliston Road) which is approached from the Bacchus Marsh-Anakie Road.


See also

*
Protected areas of Victoria Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia. it contained separate protected areas with a total land area of (17.26% of the state's area). Of these, 45 were national parks, totalling (11.32% of the state's area). The parks are man ...


References

{{State parks of Victoria Bacchus Marsh State parks of Victoria (Australia) Werribee, Victoria