Yorkrakine Rock is a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

rock formation located approximately north of Tammin and south east of Dowerin in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It makes up part of the Yorkrakine Rock Nature Reserve and is located on the Tammin Wyalkatchem Road. It is about south of the old

Yorkrakine Yorkrakine is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia; it is part of the Shire of Tammin, east of the state capital, Perth. At the , Yorkrakine had a population of 117. Since then, the area has been listed as North Tammin in t ...

townsite. The reserve has access roads and parking as well as toilets and picnic tables, but camping is not permitted. The rock is in height and occupies an area of . The base of the rock, the outcrop's apron, is good habitat for flora and fauna and is surrounded by York gum (yandee, ''

Eucalyptus loxophleba ''Eucalyptus loxophleba'', commonly known as York gum, daarwet, goatta, twotta or yandee, is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk, smooth olive to brownish bark above, lance-shaped adul ...

'') and jam (mangart, ''

Acacia acuminata ''Acacia acuminata'', known as mangart and jam, is a tree in the family Fabaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it occurs throughout the south west of the State. It is common in the Wheatbelt, and also extends into the semi-arid interior. De ...

'') woodlands. The reserve and most of the Wheatbelt are situated on the granites and granitic

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

es of the Yilgarn Block of the Precambrian Shield. The

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

are the

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

peoples. The area was used by Noongar women as a birthing site. Many children, and possibly women, who didn't survive labour have been buried at the site. A plaque commemorating the women who gave birth there, the children born, and the women and children who didn't survive has been placed at the site. Native mammals found at the site include: euro ''

Macropus robustus The common wallaroo (''Osphranter robustus''), also known as the euro, hill wallaroo, or simply wallaroo, is a species of macropod. The word ''euro'' is particularly applied to one subspecies (''O. r. erubescens'').WE Poole and JC Merchant (198 ...

'', common dunnart '' Sminthopsis murina'' and echidna ''

Tachyglossus aculeatus The short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''), also called the short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus ''Tachyglossus''. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout ...

''. Raptors found on the reserve include the brown goshawk '' Accipiter fasciatus,'' little eagle '' Aquila morphnoides'', wedge-tailed eagle '' Aquila audax'', ''

Falco peregrinus The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, ...

'' and brown falcon '' Falco berigora'', along with barnowl ''

Tyto alba The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalay ...

'' and tawny frogmouth ''

Podargus strigoides The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird, often mistaken for an owl, due to its nocturnal habits and similar colo ...

''. The banded plover ''

Vanellus tricolor The banded lapwing (''Vanellus tricolor'') is a small to medium-sized shorebird, found in small parties or large flocks on bare ground in open grasslands, agricultural land and open savannah. It is native to Australia and in the past considered ...

'', laughing dove ''

Streptopelia senegalensis The laughing dove (''Spilopelia senegalensis'') is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. T ...

'' and

domestic pigeon The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domestica'' or ''Columba livia'' ''forma'' ''domestica'') is a pigeon subspecies that was derived from the rock dove (also called the rock pigeon). The rock pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated bird. Me ...

are also found at the site. Parrots include subspecies ''

Polytelis anthopeplus anthopeplus The genus ''Polytelis'' (literally translates into 'magnificent') of the family Psittaculidae consists of three species long-tailed parrot endemic to Australia. Traditionally, it was included in the Australian broad-tailed parrots (tribe Platyce ...

'', ring-necked ''

Platycercus zonarius The Australian ringneck (''Barnardius zonarius'') is a parrot native to Australia. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus ''Barnardius'' have previously recognised two sp ...

'' and mulga parrot ''

Psephotellus varius The mulga parrot (''Psephotellus varius'') is endemic to arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in the interior of southern Australia. The male mulga parrot is multicolored, from which the older common name of many-coloured parrot is der ...

'', and the galah ''

Cacatua roseicapilla The galah (; ''Eolophus roseicapilla''), also known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is the only species within genus ''Eolophus'' of the cockatoo family. Found throughout Australia, it is among the most common of the co ...

'' and rainbow bee-eater ''

Merops ornatus The rainbow bee-eater (''Merops ornatus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. Taxonomy The rainbow bee-eater is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia and is monotypic. Its closest relative is most likely t ...

'' have also been observed. Other animals may be endemic to the area. The critically endangered trapdoor spider ''

Kwonkan eboracum ''Kwonkan'' is a genus of Australian tarantulas first described by Barbara York Main in 1983. It was originally assigned to Dipluridae, but was later assigned to Nemesiidae due to similarities to the genus '' Aname'', before being transferred to ...

'' was first collected there and is the site of the only known records for the species. A pseudoscorpion species, '' Synsphyronus elegans'' is only known to occur at exfoliated slabs on the rock. Introduced species found are

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has ...

and

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. Flora found around the site include: ''

Eucalyptus orbifolia ''Eucalyptus orbifolia'', commonly known as round-leaved mallee, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to inland Australia. It is a tree or mallee with rough bark, oval leaves, yellow flowers and conical fruit. ...

'', ''

'' and ''

Eucalyptus platycorys ''Eucalyptus platycorys'', commonly known as Boorabbin mallee, is a species of mallee, rarely a small tree, that is endemic to Western Australia. It has rough, dark grey, fibrous and flaky bark on the trunk, smooth greyish bark above, lance-shap ...

''. Both '' Acacia yorkrakinensis'' and '' Grevillea yorkrakinensis'' are named for the area.

References

{{coord, 31, 25, 17, S, 117, 30, 49, E, display=title Wheatbelt (Western Australia) Rock formations of Western Australia Places of Noongar significance

See also

References