The Apudthama National Park (formerly Jardine River National Park) is a national park in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, northwest of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and about northwest of Cairns, on the tip of

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

. The park and reserves encompass the traditional country of several Aboriginal groups including people from the Atambaya, Angkamuthi, Yadhaykenu,

Gudang The Djagaraga or Gudang (Pantyinamu/Yatay/Gudang/Kartalaiga and other clans) are an Australian Aboriginal tribe, traditionally lived in the coastal area from Cape York to Fly point, including also Pabaju (Albany Island), in the Cape York Penins ...

and

Wuthathi The Wuthathi, also known as the Mutjati, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Anthropologist Norman Tindale distinguished the Mutjati from the Otati, whereas AIATSIS treats the two ethnonyms as variants related to th ...

language and social groups. The area is a living cultural landscape, with places and features named in Aboriginal languages, story-places and story-beings, and occupation and ceremony sites throughout. Today the traditional owners retain a strong and continuing interest, through their traditional rights to, and responsibilities for, the land, in the protection and management of the area. In 2022, land formerly encompassing Jardine River National Park, Heathlands Resources Reserve and Jardine Resources Reserve were re-described as Apudthama National Park and transferred to Traditional Owners.

Coastal features

Coastal features include: * The southern half of Orford Bay * Orford Ness * False Orford Ness * Hunter Point

Vegetation

The Apudthama National Park features a complex array of vegetation types, many of which, with the exception of minor occurrences in limited zones close to the south, do not exist elsewhere. The forest types which occur in the National Park can be broken down into nine broad categories:

Closed forests

* Simple notophyll vine forest - Simple notophyll vine forest with '' Neofabricia myrtifolia'' and '' Melaleuca'' species * Araucarian vine forest * Mesophyll palm forest.

Closed scrub

'' Asteromyrtus lysicephala'' scrub - Ericaceae (Epacridaceae) scrub.

Closed heath

'' Grevillea pteridifolia'' heathland.

Closed sedgeland

Gahnia sieberiana ''Gahnia sieberiana'', commonly known as the red-fruit saw-sedge, is a tussock-forming perennial plant in the family Cyperaceae, endemic to Australia. It is a widespread plant that favours damp sunny sites. Many insect larvae have been recorded ...

'' sedgeland.

Open forest

* '' Eucalyptus nesophila'' forest * ''Eucalyptus nesophila / Eucalyptus tetrodonta'' forest * ''Eucalyptus tetrodonta'' forest.

Low open forest

'' Asteromyrtus symphyocarpa / Neofabricia myrtifolia'' forest.

Open heath

Nepenthes mirabilis ''Nepenthes mirabilis'' (; from Latin ''mirabilis'' "wonderful"), or the common swamp pitcher-plantPhillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. '' Pitcher-Plants of Borneo''. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. and tropical pitcher plant, is ...

/ Asteromyrtus lysicephala'' heath.

Tall shrubland

* '' Melaleuca viridiflora'' shrubland * '' Grevillea glauca'' shrubland with Eucalyptus species.

Low open shrubland

'' Baeckea frutescens / Asteromyrtus lysicephala'' shrubland.

Waterfalls

The park contains several waterfalls and rock pools, including Twin Falls, where the waters of Elliot River and Canal Creek meet, Fruit Bat Falls, Savo Falls and Elliot (Indian Head) Falls.

Gallery

file:Jardine-river-national-park-cape-york-queensland-australia.jpg, Apudthama National Park Fruit Bat Falls - Jardine River National Park.jpg, Fruit Bat Falls

References

External links

Trek Earth
Image of Fruit Bat Falls

Image of Fruit Bat Falls National parks of Far North Queensland Protected areas established in 1994 1994 establishments in Australia {{FarNorthQueensland-geo-stub