Nambung National Park is located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 200 kilometers (120 miles) northwest of Perth, the state capital, and 17 kilometers (11 miles) south of the coastal town of Cervantes. The park includes the Pinnacles Desert, an area with thousands of limestone formations known as pinnacles.
The park’s name comes from an indigenous Australian word that may mean "crooked" or "winding." This word was used in 1938 when naming the Nambung River, which flows into the park and disappears into a cave system in the limestone. The Yued people are recognized as the traditional owners of the land since before Europeans arrived.
The park also has beaches at Kangaroo Point and Hangover Bay, as well as coastal dunes and flowering plants in low heathland areas. A boardwalk near Lake Thetis in the northern part of the park allows visitors to see thrombolites, which are structures formed by tiny organisms, especially cyanobacteria. Some of these ancient thrombolites are estimated to be 3.6 billion years old. The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre has exhibits about the geology of the pinnacles and the cultural and natural heritage of the area.
History
Europeans first visited the area in 1658 when Dutch maps showed North and South Hummocks. In 1820, Phillip Parker King wrote about the Hummocks in his journals. The Pinnacles Desert area was not well known until it was surveyed in 1934. A national park was created in July 1994 by joining three separate reserve areas. These reserves were established in 1956, 1967 (called the Pinnacles), and 1968.
Geography
The park is surrounded by the Southern Beekeeper's Nature Reserve to the north and the Wanagarren Nature Reserve to the south. Along the eastern side, there is a large area of land owned by the government that is not currently used. The Indian Ocean forms the western edge of the park. People can enter the Pinnacles Desert from the north or south of Cervantes by traveling along the Indian Ocean Drive. They can also reach the park from the east by using Cervantes Road. The park is located 17 kilometers (11 miles) to the south of Cervantes.
Geology
The Pinnacles Desert has thousands of limestone pillars. These pillars are made from layers of limestone that formed from the remains of sea creatures like coral and mollusks. Some pillars are as tall as 3.5 meters (11 feet) above the yellow sand. The pillars vary in shape: some are tall and narrow, like columns, while others are short and wide, resembling tombstones. Many pillars show cross-bedding, which is a pattern of layers formed when the direction of wind changed during the time the limestone was created. Mushroom-shaped tops on some pillars form when the calcrete layer on top is harder than the limestone beneath it. The softer limestone below wears away more quickly, leaving more material at the top of the pillar.
Fauna and flora
Nambung National Park is home to many different types of animals. Scientists have observed 176 species of animals in the park, including 128 types of birds, 8 mammals, 15 reptiles, several kinds of fish and arthropods, and one amphibian. Some of the mammals found here include the western grey kangaroo, red kangaroo, dingo, honey possum, and red fox. Common bird species in the park are the silver gull, black-faced woodswallow, white-backed swallow, red-capped plover, and raven. Reptiles in the park include Buchanan's snake-eyed skink, yellow-faced whip snake, bobtail (a type of blue-tongued skink), and sand goanna. The only amphibian species observed in the park is the sign-bearing froglet.
Humpback whales travel to the Indian Ocean near the park during their migrations to the north and south. Sea lions and dolphins live in the area all year long.
The park has more than 170 types of flowering plants. Examples include coastal wattle, sea nymph, acorn banksia, cowslip orchid, ringed wallaby grass, and coast hop-bush. The only cone-bearing plant recorded in the park is the swamp cypress.