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Dooragan National Park

The Dooragan National Park is a national park on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is situated near Laurieton, and is approximately 365 km northeast of Sydney.

Three Brothers
The local aboriginal people tell a dreamtime story of three brothers of the Birpai tribe who were killed by a witch called Widjirriejuggi and were buried where the mountains stand. The youngest of the three was Dooragan, for whom the park is named.

By amazing coincidence, when Captain James Cook passed the area on 12 May 1770 he named the mountains Three Brothers, since "these Hills bore some resemblance to each other". Cook had earlier (25 January 1769) written of the Three Brothers hills west of Cape St Diego, so perhaps he was inspired by them too.

North Brother Mountain (Dooragan) supports a wide range of vegetation communities – including some of the best examples of old growth blackbutt forest in the area and pockets of sub-tropical rainforest – that provide habitat for gliders, bats and koalas. The park has a weed problem with the spreading of lantana.

The mountain was made a timber reserve in 1892 and later called the Camden Haven State Forest. Portions of the mountain were logged but large sections were untouched due to the terrain. It was opened to the public in 1970 when a road to the summit was constructed. The steep windy road has now been sealed, but it is unsuitable for caravans. Viewing platforms, which have wheelchair access, offer good views up and down the coast. Picnic, barbecue and toilet facilities are available. There are walks of varying length and difficulty.

Fauna
The park is inhabited by many species of birds, whose diversity cannot be seen at first glance. There are currawongs, kookaburras, cheeky magpies and many more.

title: Dooragan National Park


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Dorrigo National Park

Dorrigo National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 580 km north of Sydney on Dome Road off the Waterfall Way, 5 km east of the town of Dorrigo.

History
Dorrigo National Park lies within Gumbaynggirr country and has great significance to the Gumbaynggir people.

The park is part of the New England Group of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007. The area protected by the park is recognised for its exceptional natural beauty with significant habitats of outstanding value to science and conservation.

Since 2019, the NSW Government is developing a new visitor centre called the Dorrigo Arc Rainforest Centre and a 46km Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk, construction had not begun.

Geography
The park sits on a plateau, and thus, the large number of waterfalls in the area. Parts of the park are more mountainous, more towards the north, with the south only being so slightly hilly.

Biology
As a rainforest, Dorrigo National Park has high biodiversity. There are approximately 30 mammals, 128 birds, and 44 reptiles and amphibians.

Marsupials such as the red-necked pademelon can be found there.

Its birdlife is especially of note, the rainforest is home to species such as the wompoo fruit dove, the regent bowerbird, and the superb lyrebird.

Features
One of the main entrances to the National Park is the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre and the adjoining Canopy Cafe. The Rainforest Centre is a major CERRA interpretation centre. The interactive display, The Rainforest Revealed, explains how the rainforest evolved and gives insights into the animal and plant species that live there.

Several tracks in the park allow hikers to view the park's waterfalls and vistas to the coastal plain. A notable feature of the park is the Skywalk, an elevated walkway through and above the treetops, providing birdwatchers with an excellent view of local bird life.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Dorrigo National Park


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Dunggir National Park

Dunggir is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, 382 km northeast of Sydney. It features the Kosekai Lookout, offering a view of the Nambucca Valley. Dungir (Gumbaynggirr) means "koala".

The park is home to twelve endangered animal species, 400 indigenous plants and three types of rainforest.

title: Dunggir National Park


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Eurobodalla National Park

Eurobodalla National Park is a non-contiguous national park in New South Wales, Australia, 268 km southwest of Sydney spanning from Moruya Heads to Tilba Tilba Lake, 12 km south of Narooma. The park forms part of the Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for swift parrots.

Fauna
131 species of birds have been recorded in the park. Many migratory birds use the coastal, estuarine and freshwater habitats of Eurobodalla National Park including the Far Eastern curlew, Eurasian whimbrel, greenshank, turnstone and bar-tailed godwit. Endangered species in the park include the long-nosed potoroo, white-footed dunnart, little tern and hooded plover.

Features
Significant sites within the park are:
 * Wreck of the SS Monaro
 * Pilot station, South Head Moruya
 * Toragy Point cemetery
 * Wreck of the Kameruka

title: Eurobodalla National Park


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Fortis Creek National Park

Fortis Creek is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, 520 km north of Sydney.

The park is positioned to the north and northeast in the Banyabba Nature Reserve. The surrounding villages are Copmanhurst, Lawrence and Ulmarra.

title: Fortis Creek National Park


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Gardens of Stone National Park

The Gardens of Stone National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales in eastern Australia. The 15080 ha national park is situated 125 km northwest of Sydney, and 30 km northwest of. The national park draws its name from the natural stone pagodas within its boundaries.

The Gardens of Stone National Park is one of the eight protected areas that, in 2000, was inscribed to form part of the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Greater Blue Mountains Area. The national park forms part of the Great Dividing Range.

Features and location
The most prominent features of the park are the sandstone pagoda landscapes and cliffs and canyons. Limestone outcrops, karsts and elevated swamps are other unusual features.

The park is bounded on the west by the Castlereagh Highway; to the north by the Glen Davis Road; to the east by the Wollemi National Park; and to the south by the Newnes State Forest, the Wolgan Valley, and the Wolgan State Forest. The rural localities of, , and are located on the edge of the national park.

History
The Newnes Plateau region was proposed for conservation in 1932 as part of a Greater Blue Mountains National Park by the National Parks and Primitive Areas Council. Lobbying for protecting the area increased after the establishment of Wollemi National Park in 1979. The National Parks Association proposed its extension westwards in 1984, which developed into a detailed proposal of an 18030 ha park in 1993, which was ultimately successful. The Gardens of Stone National Park was established in 1994; however, the initial park only covered 11780 ha, omitting areas which contain coal deposits. It was later enlarged to 15080 ha. Environmentalist groups seek to protect more of the surrounding area, which includes pagodas, canyons, heathland and elevated swamps.

Flora and fauna
A total of 423 native plant species have been recorded in the park in 30 different plant communities. Most of the park is covered in open forest or woodland dominated by eucalypts. In the west of the park, there are ironbark (Eucalyptus fibrosa and E. crebra) and yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora) woodlands that grow on clay loam and are a habitat for the rare regent honeyeater and turquoise parrot. There is white box (Eucalyptus albens) woodland in the southwest and scribbly gum (Eucalyptus rossii and E. sparsifolia) woodland on the park's eastern borders.

The plant and animal communities of the pagoda formations are fragile and easily irreversibly damaged by human activity. Collection of bush rocks for gardens and landscaping removes habitat for reptiles.

title: Gardens of Stone National Park


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Garigal National Park

The Garigal National Park is a protected national park that is located within the North Shore and Forest District regions of Sydney, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 2202 ha national park is situated approximately 20 km north of the Sydney central business district.

Split into three distinct sections, divided by natural geography, urban development and road infrastructure, the park comprises the valley of Middle Harbour Creek and its tributaries, the slopes along the northern side of Middle Harbour as far as and part of the catchment of Narrabeen Lakes.

The park trails are popular with bushwalkers and mountain bike riders, particularly between and  in an area known as Cascades after the Cascades Track that runs through the area. There are over 35 trails in the park covering 120km, including both authorised bushwalking and mountain-biking trails, and unofficial or unsanctioned tracks.

Etymology and indigenous heritage
The word Garigal is a derivation of the word Carigal or Caregal used to describe the indigenous people who lived in Guringai country, translated in modern English as Ku-ring-gai.

The Guringai people are the traditional custodians of the land now reserved as the Garigal National Park and there is considerable evidence of past Aboriginal activity in the area, with over 100 Aboriginal sites recorded to date, including shelters, cave art, rock engravings, middens, grinding grooves and a possible stone arrangement.

Location
Much of the park is bounded by residential development along the ridge tops and it is easily accessible at numerous points by road and water. Several other conservation reserves and areas of bushland are adjacent or close by the Garigal National Park, including the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, the Sydney Harbour National Park, the Manly Warringah War Memorial Park (commonly known as the Manly Dam Reserve) and a number of areas of Crown land and other reserves in Northern Beaches, Ku-ring-gai and Willoughby local government areas.

The national park is defined by the following boundaries
 * In the northeastern sectorTo the south of both the Mona Vale Road and the Waste Management Centre; as far east as,  and the Narrabeen Lakes.
 * In the southwestern sectorAlong Middle Harbour and Middle Harbour Creek and bounded to the west by, , , , Belrose; bounded to the east by , , ; as far north as Mona Vale Road where it abuts the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
 * In the southeastern sectorSurrounding Bantry Bay between Killarney Heights and Forestville to the west; and Wakehurst Parkway and the Manly Dam Reserve to the east.

Fauna
A Dry Sclerophyll Forest, Garigal National Park is home to a wide range of fauna, including birds, snakes and a wide range of native mammals (such as bandicoots, koalas, wallabies).

There is also a number of introduced pests, including rabbits and foxes.

title: Garigal National Park


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Pinneberg (district)

Pinneberg is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of Steinburg and Segeberg, the city (and state) of Hamburg and the state of Lower Saxony (district Stade). The island of Heligoland is also part of the district.

History
The district is roughly identical to the former county of Holstein-Pinneberg. It was established by the Prussian administration in 1867. Since then there has been a continuous loss of territory to the neighbouring cities of Altona (later itself a part of Hamburg), Hamburg and Norderstedt. The island of Heligoland, formerly a district by itself, joined the district in 1932.

Geography
The district is situated on the northern bank of the Elbe River. While Pinneberg is the smallest district within Schleswig-Holstein, it has the most inhabitants. Due to the growing Hamburg metropolitan area the population is still increasing. The district consists mainly of the northwestern suburbs of Hamburg. Although the district of Pinneberg is only connected to the sea through the Elbe, the archipelago of Heligoland became a part of this district in 1932.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays a fir tree inside a white nettle-leaf. The leaf is from the arms of the county of Holstein-Schauenburg. The tree symbolises the forestry in the district.

title: Pinneberg (district)


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Georges River National Park

Georges River National Park is a protected Australian National Park, under the management of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The park falls in the regions of the Sutherland Shire Council and Canterbury-Bankstown Council. Located in the city of Sydney, 25 km south-west of the CBD, surrounded by neighbouring suburbs of Lugano, Illawong, Alfords Point, Padstow Heights, Revesby Heights, Picnic Point and Sandy Point. The primary use of the park is to service for recreational activities such as; bush walking, picnics, barbeques, boating, fishing, and water/jet skiing. The park is Segmented into 15 sectors along the riverbanks of the Georges River, encompassing 514 ha, housing many native aquatic and terrestrial Australian flora and fauna. The traditional custodians are the Dharug people located on the north side of the river, and Dharawal people located on the south of the river.

The park is legally protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974, with the aim to conserve nature through means of conservation, and ecology, encouraging people to visit the park in a safe, fun and sustainable way.

Park highlights and attractions
The main entrance to the park is off Henry Lawson Drive at Revesby Heights, on to Burrawang Reach Rd.

 * Revesby Beach – the beach located on the Georges River is the most common and frequently used swimming spot for visitors to the park. The water way is a common passing for bull sharks so swimming in the deep waters is cautioned to visitors.
 * East Hills District Men's Shed Association – The Men's shed Association (AMSA) is a national organisation that supports local men, through activities of common interest; furniture making, motor repairs, bike restorations, and many other types of hands on activities. The East Hills District Men's Shed Association Inc, are located in the Georges River National Park and specialise in engineering, woodwork, stained glass making, and leather work, taking part in many volunteer community-based work, and maintenance.
 * Ridge Walking Track – is a total distance of 3.2 kilometres (1.6 km in and out). It is estimated to take 30 minutes to an hour to complete the circuit.
 * Yeramba Lagoon Loop Walking Track – it is a 1.8 kilometre trail. 100 species of birds have been recorded in the area, and up to 15 different bird species are present at one time, making this trail most popular for birdwatchers. Many bird species are found in this area of the park due to the abundance of freshwater wetlands and lakes found here. It takes roughly 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete the trail.
 * Burrawang Reach Picnic Area – located adjacent to Little Salt Pan creek and Morgan's creek, this spot is most popular for recreational activities such as barbecuing and picnics. Situated not far off the shoreline are moorings for temporary boat parking near the shore.
 * Morgan Creeks Picnic Area – most popular spot for water activities such as fishing, jet skiing and boating, as there is a dual width boat ramp for visitors to use. It is also the closest picnic area to the car park.

Geography, Flora, Fauna

 * Geography – The Georges River National Park lies upon a thick bed of Hawkesbury sandstone. In other sections of the park at Sandy Point, Mittagong sandstone is more common. Mittagong sandstone is younger much finer grained sandstone compared to Hawkesbury sandstone. The 96 km long saltwater Georges River runs through the centre of the park, named and honoured after King George the III. The parks highest point of elevation is at Mill Creek, 100 metres above sea level, with an average elevation of 60 metres. Additionally, the national park receives an average annual rainfall of 850-900 millimetres (mm), 435 mm less than Sydneys annual rainfall of 1309 mm.
 * Flora – The river side predominantly consist of mangrove swamps, occupying 24 hectares on the national park, and salt marshes occupying 11 hectares of the national park. However, aerial photo analysis suggest between 1966 and 1998 unauthorised vehicles, BMX bikes, and motorised dirt bikes have reduced and declined these occupied areas of mangrove swamps and salt marches. The most common vegetation found throughout the park is Sydney Hinterland Exposed Sandstone Woodland, covering 293 hectares, characterised by eucalyptus trees 10–25 metres tall and small sclerophyll shrub. However, other floral habitats can be found in the national park as well, such as, Littoral Rainforests, Sydney Coastal Heaths, Coastal Freshwater Lagoons, and Coastal Floodplain Wetlands. Prioritised tree species that are under threat identified in the park are swamp mahogany and red gum. These are flowering tree species which nurture and feed animals species such as the grey-headed flying fox and little lorikeets. They are under-threat due to high public disturbance, and are not widely dispersed within the park. Moreover, there has been a reduction in the numbers of hollow-bearing trees with in the park, which shelter and allow for the breeding of Sittella bird species.
 * Fauna – Roughly 248 native vertebrate species have been recorded in the Georges River National Park compromising of animals ranging from amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, both introduced and native. Out of the 248 species found in the park 20 of those species are threatened under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995 and 8 species listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999, including animals such as the Green and Golden Bell frog and the blue billed duck. In total sixteen frog species have been recorded in the national park, the most common being the eastern dwarf tree frog and Tylers tree frog. Thirty two locally endemic reptile species can be found in the park, one freshwater turtle species, twenty two types of lizards (four geckoes, thirteen skinks, three dragons, two goannas), and nine snakes. The most abundant reptile species is the dark-flecked garden sunskink. Moreover, 180 species of native bird can be observed, 59 being waterbird species. Finally, twenty species of mammals are locally native to the park, the most frequently occurring being the common ringtail and brushtail possums, the swamp wallaby and the grey-headed flying-fox. A breeding population of Koalas live in the park, however are listed at as threatened. It is further noted that 59% of mammals are nocturnal microbats, such as the little forest bat, and the chocolate wattled bat. Eighteen invasive species threaten the parks native fauna, with the common fox being the most wide spread and devastating, impacting the long-nosed bandicoot population as well as the swamp wallaby.

Management Strategies

 * Park management – The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 evokes that all 870 National Parks and reserves located in NSW, should have a plan of management to sustain the natural ecology of the parks for future generations. Georges River National Park plan of management, 1994, objectively aims too; protect and preserve the natural beauty of the park, whilst conserving wildlife, and historical Aboriginal sites. Encouraging appropriate recreational activities and aiding in visitor education. Actions taken to adhere to these goals are; erosion and weed control on areas surrounding Henry Lawson drive, rehabilitation of disturbed areas, increased research and surveys of the area, accounting for introduced flora and fauna species and their eventual eradication, with the re-introduction of endemic species. Furthermore, swimming in the national park was a popular past time activity, but due to shark attacks swimmers were confined to netted areas, and with the increase in pollution in 1960 all swimming in the national park was prohibited. The plan of management does not permit for the re-opening of netted swimming areas out of fears the water is still far too polluted, 90% due to stormwater run off. The Georges River Keeper program are seeking to clean the river system, collecting on average 100 tonnes of litter, compromising of 68,000 plastic bottles, annually. Since the establishment of the Georges River Keeper program, they have witnessed a significant decrease in river pollution from 2015 to 2017, evident in their annual report. The NSW National Parks Wildlife Service seek to re-open netted swimming areas, however far more rehabilitation needs to be conducted.
 * Fire management – The National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 also states that all National Parks in NSW should have a plan of management for natural disasters such as Bushfires. In 1985 80% of the Georges River National Park burnt due to a wild fire, therefore establishing the park as a threatened fire area. Since then strict park fire management strategies have been emplaced, most recently the, Georges River Park Fire Management Strategy, 2018. This document is a legal requirement, that outlines operational guidelines for prescribed burning and wildfires. The fire management plan list operations to combat wildfires, such as; Aerial water bombing, Aerial Ignition, Back burning, Containment Lines, Fire Suppression Chemicals, Earth moving equipment, Visitor Management in case of fire, and Rehabilitation methods for burnt areas. The plan additionally maps out the current vegetation status of the whole National Park bush lands. Listing the areas as other vulnerable, frequently burnt, long unburnt or unknown. The management strategy also names and highlights threatened Fauna, which fire services should be aware, for example the Hieraaetus morphnoides (little eagle), and Ninox strenua (Powerful Owl), as well as their habitats (hollow bearing trees).

Park History

 * Modern History — Following WW2, the Georges River area and Bankstown City industrial industries accounted for 20% of all the factories located in Sydney. With the increase of industrialisation, pollution became a problem, as of 1971 the Georges river became the second most toxic body of water in all of Sydney. The continual increase in industrial pollution encouraged locals to take action, advocating for the protection and conservation of threatened ecological niches along the river. As a result, between 1961 and 1967 the Georges River National Park was established, and a trust group was founded, in order to manage and protect the park lands. During this period most of the funding for the park came from sand mine leases. However, after the introduction of the 1967 National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Georges River National Park was downgraded and listed as a state park, also known as a 'nature reserve'. Reasons for this was that the park did not meet certain qualities of having spacious land areas. Finally, in 1992 the park was re-declared a National Park and increased in size from 173 hectares in 1961, to 514 in 2020.2007 0810klklk0042.JPG
 * Indigenous History – The Georges River is known to the Indigenous people as the Tucoerah River, evidence of past indigenous activity is present in the national park, including aboriginal shelters, rock engravings, and axe grinding sites. Upon European settlement of Sydney, the Dharug and Dharawal people of the Georges River were forced up stream by colonist to the now located Georges River National Park. However, fast industrial growth in this area between 1900 and 1930, lead to many native families being forcefully evicted off their land. It wasn't until 1930 where an indigenous activist, Joe Anderson, appealed for Salt Pan Creek to become a place of refuge for indigenous people. Salt Pan Creek located near Padstow in the Georges River National Park, became a place of shelter for many indigenous political fighters, such as Jack Patten, Bert Grovers, Ted Thomas, Bill Onus, and Jacko Campbel. Additionally, Salt Pan Creek was the site for many aboriginal families to seek refuge from the Australian Government between 1910 and 1970, during the stolen generations. The park and water ways allowed aboriginal people to hunt and gather food, practice indigenous associated rituals, and stay connected to the dreaming thus the land.

title: Georges River National Park


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Ghin-Doo-Ee National Park

Ghin-Doo-Ee  is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 200 km northeast of Sydney. Its name comes from the Gadjang word for the Australian brushturkey.

The average elevation of the terrain is 250 metres.

title: Ghin-Doo-Ee National Park


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Gibraltar Range National Park

Gibraltar Range  is a national park located in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. It is situated 79 kilometres (49 mi) northeast of Glen Innes and 493 km north of Sydney. The Park is part of the Washpool and Gibraltar Range area, which is designated as a World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. This area was inscribed in 1986 and was later added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007.

Birds
The Gibraltar Range a national park encompasses an area of 366-square-kilometre (141 sq mi) and is recognised as the Gibraltar Range Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it is a block of highland forest that supports one of only five remaining populations of the vulnerable rufous scrub-bird, as well as significant populations of green catbirds, Australian logrunners, paradise riflebirds and pale-yellow robins.

Gallery
 Image:Dandahra Crags.jpg|Dandahra Crags Image:Little Dandahra Creek.jpg|Little Dandahra Creek Image:Granite boulders and Surveyors Creek.jpg|Granite boulders on Surveyors Creek Image:Mulligans Hut.jpg|Mulligans Hut Image:Blandfordia grandiflora habitat.jpg|Christmas bells in sedge heath near Surveyors Creek

title: Gibraltar Range National Park


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Goobang National Park

Goobang  is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, 296 km northwest of Sydney. It protects the largest remnant forest and woodland in the central west region of the state, where interior and coastal New South Wales flora and fauna species overlap. Originally named Herveys Range by John Oxley in 1817, the area was reserved in 1897 as state forest because of its importance as a timber resource, and was designated a national park in 1995.

The park contains a camping ground and a hiking trail, Burrabadine Peak Walking Track, a 3.6 km round trip moderate hike.

Climate
Goobang National Park is in a temperate to semi-arid zone experiencing hot summers and cool winters with temperatures ranging from 4 to 15 C in winter and 17 to 32 C in summer. The heaviest rain fall is in the summer and can range from 645 mm on the east side of the ranges to 564 mm west of the ranges.

Flora
There are 459 species recorded in the park, several that are threatened. Tylophora linearis is listed as vulnerable according to the TCS ACT 1995 and endangered according to the EPBC ACT 1999. Eriostemon ericifolius is vulnerable based on TCS ACT 1995 and Astrotricha linearis only known record west of the Great Dividing Range. Pomaderris queeslandica endangered TSC ACT 1995 and Philotheca ericifoia vulnerable EPBC ACT 1999.

There are 135 ecological communities in the South West Slope bioregion, most are considered poorly protected.(4) There are 11 ecological communities in the park, five of which are only protected at Goobang. These include red stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha) woodland found on siliceous hillslopes of the Hervey Range. Red stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha), long leaved box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx) black cypress pine (Callitris endicher), hummock grass (Triodia scariosa), shrubby low woodland found on siliceous volcanic and sedimentary ranges. Red ironbark (Eucalyptus fibrosa) in association with black cypress (Callitris endlicheri) shrubby woodland found on shallow sandy soils derived from sandstone. Red ironbark (Eucalyptus fibrosa), red stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha) tumbledown gum (Eucalyptus dealbata) heathland found on siliceous ridges and scribbly gum (Eucalyptus rosii) dominated open forest in association with black cypress pine and red ironbark.

A further four communities that are protected in Goobang are considered to be of significance. Mugga ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon), black cypress, red stringybark, Blakely's red gum (Eucalyptus blakelyi) and red ironbark woodland which are found on hillslopes and in valleys on the ranges. Buloke (Allocasuarina leuhnannii) and white cypress pine (Callitris glaucophylla) woodlandis found on alkaline soils. Riparian Blakely's red gum, apple box (Eucalyptus bridesana), yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora) and occasionally inland grey box (Eucalyptus macrocarpa), with shrub, sedge and grass tall open forest in valleys. White box (Eucalyptus albens), with black cypress and red gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos) shrubby woodlands in the hills.

Fire
Fires are an intrinsic feature of the Australian bush, to ensure continual biodiversity prescribed burns are carried out at the appropriate times within the park. Wildfires at Goobang have occurred due to dry lightning strikes in the hot summer months. There have been 52 wildfires recorded since 1942.

Fauna
There are 31 species of reptiles, 14 species of frogs and 31 species of mammals recorded in the park including echidnas, wallaby, kangaroos, possums and bats as well as exotics such as rabbits, cats, foxes, goats, sheep and dogs. Threatened species include carpet python (Morelia spilotes), Sloane's froglet (Crinia sloanei), koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), brush tailed rock wallaby (Petrogale pencicllata), grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), yellow-bellied sheathtail bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris), Corben's long eared bat (Nyetophilus corbeni) and New Holland mouse (Pseudomys novaehollandiae).

Avifauna
It is becoming evident that due to clearing of eucalyptus forests that woodland birds are on the decline. Birds of significance that have been sighted at Goobang are varied sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera) painted honeyeater (Grantiella picta), black-chinned honeyeater (Melithreptus gularis), regent honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia), scarlet robin (Petroica boodang), flame robin (Petrocia phoenice), hooded robin (Melanodryas cucullata), Gilbert's whistler (Pachycephala inornata), diamond firetail (Emblema guttata) grey-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis), speckled warbler (Chthonicola saggitatus), brown treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus), glossy black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), superb parrot (Polytellis swainsonii), little lorikeet (Glossopsitta pusilla), turquoise parrot (Neophema pulchella), spotted harrier (Circus assimilis), barking owl (Ninox connivens), black falcon (Falco subniger), and little eagle (Heiraaetus morphnoides).

Feral animals
Feral animals pose a huge threat to native species due to predation, disease and competition. Feral cats for example have been responsible for reduced numbers and extinction of small mammals and birds. ) Rabbits pose a threat to the survival of tree seedlings competition with native herbivores.

Environmental weeds
Weeds such as blackberry are significant as far as causing havoc within the natural environment forming large thickets blocking creeks suppressing native ground covers and providing a hiding spot for feral animals such as rabbits. Exotic grasses, pastures and weeds have replaced native undergrowth in most of the scattered white box communities.

Agriculture practices
Grazing in and around remnant woodlands. Clearing of native vegetation that might act as connective corridors between the park and any other patchy native landscapes.

Human – induced climate change
Species that require specialized niches and or cannot disperse and effectively colonize suitable habitat will be affected if this current trend of human induced climate change continues. It is estimated that 52% of the already declining population of frogs and 35% of birds will be affected. Koalas are listed by the IUCN as one of the top 10 species to become extinct. Koala populations are already at risk because of habitat modification and chlamydia. Increasing levels will affect the nutrient availability of eucalyptus leaves further weakening koala populations, increased frequency of droughts and bushfire will force koalas to seek new habitats, exposing them to the dangers of predation and injury from traffic.

title: Goobang National Park


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Commendation Medal

The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth version existing for acts of joint military service performed under the Department of Defense.

The Commendation Medal was originally only a service ribbon and was first awarded by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard in 1943. An Army Commendation Ribbon followed in 1945 and in 1949 the Navy, Coast Guard, and Army Commendation ribbons were renamed the "Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant". By 1960 the Commendation Ribbons had been authorized as full medals and were subsequently referred to as Commendation Medals.

Additional awards of the Army and Air and Space Commendation Medals are denoted by bronze and silver oak leaf clusters. The Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Coast Guard Commendation Medal are authorized gold and silver 5/16 inch stars to denote additional awards. The Operational Distinguishing Device ("O" device) is authorized for wear on the Coast Guard Commendation Medal upon approval of the awarding authority. Order of Precedence is following the Air Medal but before the Prisoner of War Medal and all campaign medals. Each of the military services also awards separate Achievement Medals which are below the Commendation Medals in precedence.

Variants
For valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy but of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Bronze Star Medal, a Commendation Medal with "V" Device or Combat "V" (Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard) is awarded; the "V" device may be authorized for wear on the service and suspension ribbon of the medal to denote valor. On January 7, 2016 The "C" Device or Combat "C" was created and may be authorized for wear on the service and suspension ribbon of the Commendation Medal to distinguish an award for meritorious service or achievement under the most arduous combat conditions (while the Soldier/Sailor/Marine was personally exposed to hostile action or in an area where other Servicemembers were actively engaged). A Commendation Medal with Combat Device is unofficially named the "Combat Commendation" and is often considered to be a higher level form of the Commendation Medal, regardless of the Awarding Branch. Retroactive award of the "C" device is not approved for medals awarded before January 7, 2016.

Joint Service
The Joint Service Commendation Medal (JSCM) was authorized on June 25, 1963 and is awarded in the name of the Secretary of Defense to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after January 1, 1963, distinguished themselves by meritorious achievement or service in a joint duty capacity.

This award is intended for senior service on a joint military staff and is senior in precedence to service-specific Commendation Medals. As such, it is worn above the service Commendation Medals on a military uniform.

 * Devices
 * Oak leaf cluster (for subsequent awards)
 * "V" Device (for valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy)

Army
The Army Commendation Medal is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States other than General Officers who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Army after December 6, 1941, distinguished themselves by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service. The medal may be awarded to a member of another branch of the U.S. Armed Forces or of a friendly foreign nation who, after June 1, 1962, distinguishes themselves by an act of heroism, extraordinary achievement, or significant meritorious service which has been of mutual benefit to the friendly nation and the United States.

The Army Commendation Medal is awarded to American and foreign military personnel in the grade of O-6 (Colonel in the U.S. Army) and below who have performed noteworthy service in any capacity with the United States Army. Qualifying service for the award of the medal can be for distinctive meritorious achievement and service, acts of courage involving no voluntary risk of life, or sustained meritorious performance of duty. Approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel (O-6) or higher.
 * Criteria and appearance

The medallion of the Army Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagon, 1$3/8$ inches wide. On the medallion is an American bald eagle with wings spread horizontally, grasping in its talons three crossed arrows. On its breast is a shield paly of thirteen pieces and a chief. The reverse bears a panel for naming between the words FOR MILITARY above and MERIT below, all placed above a laurel sprig. The ribbon is 1$3/8$ inches wide primarily of myrtle green. It is edged in white and in the center are five thin white stripes spaced equally apart.

 * Devices
 * Oak leaf cluster (for subsequent awards)
 * "V" Device (for valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy)
 * "C" Device (for meritorious service or achievement under combat conditions. Unofficially called the Combat Commendation. Retroactive Awards are not authorized for medals awarded before January 7, 2016)
 * "R" Device (for direct and immediate impact on combat operations from a remote location)

Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard
After World War I, the Department of the Navy authorized the Navy Commendation Star, a ribbon device to be placed on the World War I Victory Medal. The $3/16$ inch silver star was identical to the Army Citation Star, but not comparable, as the later recognized "gallantry in action", while the Navy Commendation Star denoted those who had been cited and commended for performance of duty by the Secretary of the Navy.

An independent Navy Commendation Ribbon was established in November 1943. On March 22, 1950 a metal pendant (of the same design as the pendant of the Army Commendation Medal) was authorized and the Commendation Ribbon was renamed the Navy Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant. This award was re-designated as the Navy Commendation Medal in September 1960, and renamed the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal in 1994. This decoration was previously awarded only by flag rank operational commanders, requiring the signature of an admiral or general officer in the grade of O-7, allowing interpretation of the criteria for which the medal may be awarded. Authority to award this decoration was later expanded to captains and colonels in the grade of O-6 currently holding operational command as a commodore, carrier air wing commander or commanding officer.

Recipient members of the U.S. Marine Corps have always been issued the Navy's commendation medal and there is not a separate commendation medal intended only for Marines. This lack of difference was recognized on August 19, 1994 when Secretary of the Navy John Howard Dalton changed the name of the Navy Commendation Medal to the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.

The U.S. Coast Guard awards a separate Coast Guard Commendation Medal, with a ribbon similar in design to that of its Navy and Marine Corps counterpart. Initially established as the Coast Guard Commendation Ribbon in 1947, it was redesignated as the Coast Guard Commendation Medal in 1959. Criteria for its award has paralleled that of the Navy and Marine Corps.

 * Devices
 * $5/16$ inch star, Combat "V", and Operational Distinguishing Device (Coast Guard)

Air and Space Forces
The Department of the Air Force began issuing its own Air Force Commendation Medal in 1958 with additional awards denoted by oak leaf clusters. Prior to this time, USAF recipients received the Army Commendation Medal. It was not until 1996 that the "V" device was authorized on the Air Force Commendation Medal; prior to 1996, there was not a valor distinction in effect for the Air Force Commendation Medal. On January 7, 2016, the "C" device and "R" device was authorized on the Air Force Commendation Medal as well. For USAF enlisted personnel, the Air Force Commendation Medal is worth three points under the Air Force enlisted promotion system.

On 16 November 2020, it was renamed the Air and Space Commendation Medal (ASCOM) by the Secretary of the Air Force.

The Air and Space Commendation Medal is awarded to both American and foreign military personnel of any service branch in the U.S. military grade of O-6 and below, the NATO grade of OF-5 and below, or of any other Allied or Coalition nation in the grade of Colonel or equivalent or below, or the naval grade of Captain or equivalent or below, who have performed noteworthy service in any capacity with the United States Air Force or United States Space Force. Qualifying service for the award of the medal can be for distinctive meritorious achievement and service, acts of courage involving no voluntary risk of life, or sustained meritorious performance of duty. Approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel or higher.
 * Criteria and appearance

The Air and Space Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagonal medallion. On the medallion is a shield surmounted by an eagle superimposed over clouds. On the shield bears a pair of flyer's wings and a vertical baton with an eagle's claw at either end; behind the shield are eight lightning bolts. The design on the shield is derived from the Seal of the Department of the Air Force. The ribbon of the Air and Space Commendation Medal is golden yellow with blue edges. In the center are three bands of blue, the outer stripes are thin with the center stripe being wider.

 * Devices
 * Oak leaf cluster (for subsequent awards)
 * "V" device (for valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy)
 * "C" device (for meritorious service in direct contact with an enemy)
 * "R" device (for employment of a remote weapon system during military operations)

title: Commendation Medal


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Goonengerry National Park

Goonengerry  is a small village in New South Wales, Australia, 626 km northeast of Sydney. It is known for its horse riding and National Park.

Before the proclamation of the national park, this area was a state forest.

Important Bird Area
The park lies within the Nightcap Range Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because it contains the largest known population of Albert's lyrebirds, as well as several other significant bird species.

title: Goonengerry National Park


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Goulburn River National Park

The Goulburn River National Park is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, 213 km northwest of Sydney and it is 35 km south-west of Merriwa. The Goulburn River National Park is located in the Hunter Valley region and covers approximately 90 km of the Goulburn River. It is near the towns of Sandy Hollow, Denman, Merriwa, and Mudgee.

The park with its beautiful surroundings, forest and river offers many opportunities for recreation, such as fishing, hiking, kayaking, swimming and camping.

Animals
The park is a sanctuary for kangaroos, wombats, emus, goannas, platypus, and a wide variety of birds. It lies within the Mudgee-Wollar Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because of its importance for the endangered regent honeyeater.

Aboriginal heritage
The park contains some 300 or more aboriginal site (mostly along the river). The Wiradjuri, Gamileroi and Wonnarua Clans peoples have traditionally lived in this area since ancient times.

title: Goulburn River National Park


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Gulaga National Park

Gulaga National Park is a national park on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 15 km south of Narooma. The park is dominated by Gulaga, also known as Mount Gulaga (formerly Mount Dromedary). The former Wallaga Lake National Park, Goura Nature Reserve, and Mount Dromedary Flora Reserve were combined to form this park in 2001. The park features the southernmost subtropical rainforest in New South Wales.

History
Gulaga was an active volcano more than 60 million years ago.

In 2001, as part of the Southern Comprehensive Regional Forest Agreement and at the request of Yuin people, Gulaga National Park was created out of the existing Wallaga Lake National Park, Goura Nature Reserve, and Mt Dromedary Flora Reserve.

On 6 May 2006 the freehold titles to Gulaga and Biamanga National Parks were handed back to the Yuin people, the traditional owners of the land, by the New South Wales Government, represented by then New South Wales Environment Minister Bob Debus. Freehold title of Gulaga National Park is held in trust by land councils for the Aboriginal owners by Merrimans and Wagonga Local Aboriginal Lands Councils, while that of Biamanga will be held in trust by Merrimans and Bega Local Aboriginal Lands Councils.

Geography
The mountain is currently 1000 m high, surrounded by lakes, mining tracks, rainforest and the countryside. The park is 46.73 km2 in area. It forms part of the Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for swift parrots.

Wallaga Lake, the largest lake in southern NSW, lies within the park.

Bermagui is about 10 km south of the park.

title: Gulaga National Park


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Gundabooka National Park

The Gundabooka National Park is a protected national park in the north-west region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 63902 ha national park is located approximately 820 km northwest of Sydney. The nearest town is, 70 km to the north.

The national park is located adjacent to both the Darling River and the Toorale National Park, both located on the northwest boundary of the national park. Mount Gunderbooka and the Gunderbooka Range is located within the park. Prior to becoming a park the area was home to the Ngemba and a sheep station. Petroglyph rock art and ancestral ceremonial grounds are located inside the park. It has many exotic plants.

Large open plains, ends of grassy forests and rusty rocky cliffs dominate the landscape.

title: Gundabooka National Park


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Guy Fawkes River National Park

Guy Fawkes River National Park, a national park comprising 100590 ha, is located on the eastern edge of the New England Tablelands and the western edge of the Dorrigo Plateau, in north eastern New South Wales, Australia.

Access to the national park via Waterfall Way, is near Ebor, 46 km south-west of Dorrigo and 80 km north-east of Armidale. The national park is approximately 560 km north of Sydney. Additional access points to more remote parts of the national park are via the Armidale-Grafton Road, via Marengo Road at Hernani, Sheepstation Creek Road at Dundurrabin, Ellis Road and Boundary Creek Road south of Nymboida; or from the Old Grafton-Glen Innes Road, via Chaelundi Road at Dalmorton. From the west, the national park is accessible via Wards Mistake.

Guy Fawkes River National Park has over 40 different vegetation communities, 28 threatened plant species, 24 threatened fauna species and significant areas of old-growth forest protected within the park. The Guy Fawkes River plunges off the Northern Tablelands at the Ebor Falls. There are spectacular examples of valley and rugged river gorges including the deeply incised Guy Fawkes River Valley along the line of an ancient fault through the park. The rugged gorges of the Aberfoyle, Sara and Henry rivers also run through the park.

Features
Wild horses have lived in this park since the 1930s. In October 2000, over 600 horses in the Guy Fawkes River National Park were shot and killed from a helicopter during a controversial cull by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. In response to public outcry, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Bob Debus, commissioned a study into the heritage value of horses in the park and indicated that, should the horses be found to have genuine heritage significance, they would be humanely removed from the park so that they can be managed properly in another location by people with an interest in their heritage value. In February 2002, the final report by the Heritage Working Party found that these horses had significant historical, military and cultural value. They are direct descendants of Australia's wartime cavalry horses, known as Walers, and are the only group of Australian wild horse to have proven heritage value. Since the campaign began to remove horses from there over 400 have been passively trapped, taken from the park, and 200 of these have been found a home elsewhere. The Guy Fawkes Heritage Horse Association (GFHHA) takes possession of horses passively removed from the GFRNP and offer them for sale to the public, they also manage the horses to maintain their inherent characteristics and to preserve the unique genetics of these wild horses. A formal register and Stud Book has been established for these purposes. The GFHHA also actively promotes the GF horse versatility by sponsoring classes held at local Ag Shows and encouraging horse owners to participate in all disciplines.

In the 1970s the Bicentennial National Trail was plotted to run along the western side of Guy Fawkes River on what is a travelling stock route.

title: Guy Fawkes River National Park


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Hat Head National Park

Hat Head  is a national park on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, 461.7 km north-east of Sydney. It lies within the Hastings-Macleay Important Bird Area. Within the park is the eponymous village of Hat Head, with about 320 inhabitants.

Location
Hat Head National Park is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales near South West Rocks and Kempsey. The park consists of beaches, sand dunes, rocky headlands, rainforest and wetlands. The average altitude is eight metres.

History
For the Dunghutti people some parts of the park remain a significant place as of their traditional land. The different areas of the park and the sea provided a rich source of food like fish and shellfish. The park is culturally important to Aboriginal people as it contains ceremonial grounds, burial sites, shell middens and campsites.

Biodiversity
Hat Head National Park is rich with birdlife such as kookaburra, black swans, egrets, herons, fantails, and honeyeaters. Also hawks, falcons or eagles like white-bellied sea eagle soaring above the cliffs. Wildlife at Hat Head includes black sheoak, grass trees, glossy black cockatoo, red-necked and swamp wallabies as well as eastern grey kangaroos, sugar gliders, grey-headed flying fox and short-beaked echidna. The regent skipper (butterfly) is only found in Hat Head National Park and Limeburners Creek National Park.

Leisure
Several walking tracks, fishing and whale watching can be done or just relax at the rocky headlands. Birdwatchers can look for black swans and spoonbills in the park's wetlands, hawks and eagles soaring above beach cliffs and shorebirds like curlews and plovers around the beach.

title: Hat Head National Park


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Heathcote National Park

Heathcote National Park is a protected national park that is located in the southern area of Sydney, New South Wales in eastern Australia, and is situated on Dharawal country. The 2679 ha national park is situated approximately 35 km southwest of the Sydney central business district, west of the Illawarra railway line, the Princes Highway and Motorway, and the suburbs of and.

Geography
The park consists of 2,679 hectares of woodland, predominantly dry schlerophyll forest on the ridges and low heath in the wetter areas. The Hawkesbury sandstone has been carved up by various watercourses like Heathcote Creek, Kingfisher Creek and Myuna Creek, creating deep valleys. The Hawkesbury sandstone has created a sandy, infertile soil that is typical of the Sydney region.

The main walking track is the Bullawarring Track, which stretches from Waterfall to Heathcote. It largely follows the valley of Heathcote Creek, the main watercourse in the park, as well as utilizing a maintenance road that leads from Woronora Dam to Heathcote Road.

It is bounded by Holsworthy and Pleasure Point to the north, Heathcote and Lucas Heights to the east, the Greater Western Sydney region to the west (which include the suburbs of Glenfield, Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown), and Helensburgh to the south in the Illawarra.

History
Before European settlement, the Dharawal people, an Aboriginal Australian people, lived in the area. They left their mark at a number of known sites, which include shield trees along the Bullawarring Track and charcoal drawings along Myuna Creek. In addition, a number of Europeans lived in rough huts in the park during the Great Depression, leaving behind meagre ruins at places like Myuna Creek.

In the early 1930s, The Sydney Bushwalkers and the Mountain Trails Club of New South Wales had a lease on 75 ha of land in the area, and were probably responsible for the creation of some of the early tracks and camp sites. This was the beginning of Heathcote National Park, which eventually grew to over two thousand hectares.

Landscape
The park consists of a deeply dissected Hawkesbury sandstone plateau, part of the Woronora Plateau The creek gorges include Heathcote Creek, a tributary of the Georges River. The sandstone was formed 200 million years ago, and periods of uplift began about 94 million years ago. Each period of uplift caused stream erosion, which cut more deeply into the plateau surface. Heathcote Creek cascades down a number of rock pools and small waterfalls to the Woronora River at the northern end of the park.

Flora
The ridges and drier slopes are covered in forest dominated by angophoras and eucalypts such as bloodwood, greygum, Sydney peppermint, and scribbly gum. Grass-trees are common. Low heath growth consists of shrubs, including ti trees, banksias, hakeas, and waxflowers. Gymea lilies and forest oaks grow on the moister slopes. Blackbutts and grevilleas grow in the Heathcote Creek Valley.

Fauna
Sugar gliders, ring tail possums, and possibly eastern pygmy possums inhabit both Mirang Creek and Minda Gully. Swamp wallabies are also present. Honeyeaters are often seen, as well as superb lyrebirds. Fish, eels and crayfish are commonly found in the creeks.

title: Heathcote National Park


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Indwarra National Park

Indwarra is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 422 km north of Sydney. It is located on the central New England Tablelands and covers an area of over 900ha.

The park was created in January 1999. Flora surveys were conducted in 2002, revealing 220 species of flora in the park. The highest and most prominent mountain in the national park is Mount Tingha, which rises to 1208 metres above sea level.

title: Indwarra National Park


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Junuy Juluum National Park

Junuy Juluum  is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, 424 km northeast of Sydney.

Positioned on the slopes of Campion Mountain, this remnant of warm temperate rainforest is a haven for paradise riflebirds and sooty owls.

The average elevation of the terrain is 743 metres.

title: Junuy Juluum National Park


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Kanangra-Boyd National Park

The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur regions, in New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 68660 ha national park is situated approximately 180 km south-west of Sydney and is contiguous with the Blue Mountains National Park and the Nattai National Park. The park was established in 1969.

The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is one of the eight protected areas that, in 2000, was inscribed to form part of the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Greater Blue Mountains Area. The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is the most southwesterly of the eight protected areas within the World Heritage Site. The national park forms part of the Great Dividing Range.

Notable features of the national park include the Thurat Spires, Kanangra Walls, Mount Colong, and three waterfall systems – the Kalang, the 225 m twotiered drop Kanangara and the Morong falls. The park also features a series of karst landforms that can be explored by those with caving experience.

The movie Jedda was filmed in the Kanangra Walls area in 1954.

Features and location

Kanangra-Boyd National Park is composed of two land units — the elevated, gently undulating Boyd Plateau and the area of creeks, rivers, gorges and ridges into which the plateau falls away. The plateau is traversed by the Kanangra Walls Road and can be accessed either from Oberon or Jenolan Caves. The road leads to Kanangra Walls. There are several well known landmarks in the park, such as Mount Cloudmaker, Kanangra Walls and the Thurat Spires. The word Kanangra is generally held to be a corruption of Gundangura and was called Thurat for some time.

The national park is bounded to the north by open farmland; to the east by the Coxs River, the Blue Mountains National Park and the Kowmung River; to the southeast by the Yerranderie State Conservation Area; to the south by the Nattai National Park and the Wombeyan Caves Road; to the southwest by the Blue Mountains National Park; and to the west by the Kowmung River, the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve, and open farmland and extensive state forests that surround the town of. The Abercrombie River National Park is situated a short distance, further southwest.

Geology
The Kanangra-Boyd Wilderness is among the largest and most rugged wilderness areas in New South Wales. Situated to the south of in the Blue Mountains and the Kanangra-Boyd National Parks, this folded belt or "Rim Rock" area is markedly different from the Permo-Triassic sandstone dominated landforms which comprise the rest of the Blue Mountains. There are isolated residual cappings of Permian sandstone in a few places but here the Palaeozoic basement rocks, which are elsewhere buried well below the Permo-Triassic Measures, are on the surface as high land. Rock types include quartzite, diorite, Devonian rhyolites, rhyo-dacites, Silurian phyllites, slates, siltstones and tuff limestones. The Boyd Plateau comprises a dome of Devonian granite intruded into Devonian quartzites and sedimentaries. There are also intrusive igneous rocks from the Carboniferous period. Kanangra Tops at the south-eastern end of the Plateau is one of the Permian outliers. Its fringing fault scarp – Kanangra Walls – comprises Permian sedimentaries of the Capertee Group which rests unconformably on a Devonian Lambie Group Basement. Nearby Kanangra Gorge is cut 600 - 900 m deep in rocks of the Lambie Group, and is one of Australia's deepest gorges. Cloudmaker and Guouogang are eroded remnants of Ordovician quartzite. Further east, in the Coxs River area, is the large Kanimbla granite batholith, emplaced during the Carboniferous period. Colong Caves is another outstanding feature of the area. The main Upper Silurian limestone belt, in the Jenolan River valley to the north-west, is 300 m thick, 8 km long and located in a valley 460 m deep. This karst topography, created by the Jenolan and its tributaries, is one of the least understood in Australia.

Flora
The complex geology, climate, fire regime, and topography has enabled a wide variety of ecosystems to develop. Eucalypt forest with western plain species, such as yellow box and white box, are found in areas of rainshadow. Forests of mountain ash are found on well drained soils and Blaxland's stringybark where soil is poor. red spotted gum, Blakely's red gum, red stringybark and forest oak are also found. Kurrajong trees are found in abundance where limestone outcrops occur, and in sheltered gullies rainforest species (including red cedar) and blue gum are found. On the Boyd Plateau, the misty mountain forests of brown barrel, messmate, ribbon gum, black sally, snow gum and mallee predominate. High altitude areas subject to strong winds generally support heath and closed scrub communities. In areas of impeded drainage, various swamps occur, dominated by sedges and scrubs such as Leptospermum and Baeckea species.

About 1,000 flowering plant species occur in the Blue Mountains, in some 40 plant communities. There are over 45 rare or endangered plant species in the wilderness. A unique form of tall open forest occurs in the Kedumba Valley, dominated by Camden white gum, an endangered species limited to these populations.

Fauna
The Blue Mountains National Park contains 46 species of mammals, including 27 marsupials and two monotremes. Over 200 birds and 98 reptile species have been recorded. Several species listed on Schedules 1 and 2 of the are found in the Wilderness Area including: The powerful owl (Ninox strenua), squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis), yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus volans), tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), and brush-tailed rock wallaby (Petrogale penicillata). A species of velvet worm (Euperipatoides kanangrensis) has been found on the Boyd Plateau.

Bushwalking
There are several walking tracks and other sites in the park, these include the:
 * Lookout Walk the easiest and wheelchair accessible, this ten-minute route along well-formed tracks leads to the first lookout which overlooks the gorges of Kanangra Creek and beyond to the high tops of Mt Cloudmaker and the Blue Mountains escarpment, which presents a spectacular vista. The second overlooks rugged ravines at the head of the gorges and Kanangra Falls;
 * Waterfall Walk accessible from the Lookout Walk, this route leads down into a gully where the Kalang Falls splash into a pool; and
 * Plateau Walk turns off before the main lookout and leads into the Kanangra Wilderness and onto the expansive heath-covered Kanangra Tops Plateau. It is possible to walk continuously from this walk to Katoomba and Narrow Neck.

Camping is available on the banks of Morong Creek, at the Boyd River campground, located on Kanangra Road.

title: Kanangra-Boyd National Park


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Kinchega National Park

The Kinchega National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Far West region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia.The 44259 ha national park is located approximately 840 km west of Sydney and 111 km south-east of Broken Hill. The park adjoins the town of Menindee. The eastern edge of the Kinchega National Park is formed by the Darling River.

The park is noted for its Aboriginal artefacts, left behind by the Paarkantji people, who travelled up and down the Darling River.

Fauna
It is home to many species of wild animals, such as lace monitor, Peron's tree frog, pink and black cockatoos, kultarr and others.

title: Kinchega National Park


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Kings Plains National Park

Kings Plains  is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 48 km from Inverell, 50 km from Glen Innes and 478 km north of Sydney.

History
Kings Plains was founded in January 1988 and was made a national park to preserve and protect the array of wild animals, plants and the Kings Plains creek with its many water features and found in 1988.

Land features
Kings Plains National Park is not widely known to people for the land, people mostly enjoy the array of water features joining the Kings Plains creek from non-drying pools to rapids to waterfalls, which leads to a gorge. The land itself is mostly made up of sandy soils with shrub. The soil is more fertile around the creek.

Vegetation
Some vegetation in the Kings Plains woodland includes iron-barks, cypress pine, yellow box, stringy-barks, eucalyptus trees, and apple box. Among the shrubs are rare species such as the grey guinea flower, folded leaf waxflower and Rodd's star-hair. During spring the park's wildflowers are at their most colourful.

Wildlife
Amongst the large variety of wildlife are eastern grey kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies and koalas which live in the park near water and fertile soils. Also the rare brush-tail wallaby has been in the park. Platypus can be seen along the creek, but some of their habitat above the falls is considered fragile. In the area, 82 bird species have been recorded, including eastern and crimson rosellas, king parrots, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, currawongs, wattle birds and many species of honeyeaters. There are also the endangered glossy black cockatoos, turquoise parrots and regent honeyeaters. In and around Kings Plains Creek the straw-necked ibis can be found and high above "birds of prey" such as the wedge-tailed eagle and the peregrine falcon are seen.

Activities
The main attraction of Kings Plains National Park is bushwalking along the creek to Kings Plains Falls is seen as an enjoyable trip of about 2.5 hours. The creek banks also make a good attraction. Kings Plains is not well known but I see this is a getaway from the insanity of being crowded in a boring trailer park. The park offers walks, camping, picnic areas and the old style non-flush toilets.

title: Kings Plains National Park


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Koreelah National Park

Koreelah  is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 631 km north of Sydney. The park is part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance in the conservation of several species of threatened birds.

Description
The main feature is the gorge just south west of the campsite. At the head of the gorge is a deep water hole surrounded by four metre cliffs that can be dived from. There are bigger waterfalls downstream but no access to the main gorge from the north without ropes. There is some algae in the water if there has not been recent rain.

This is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy nature, and the company will make you platypus, koalas, sugar gliders, brush-tailed rock wallabies and glossy black cockatoos.

Facilities
There is a campsite signed west of White Swamp Road, roughly 10 km north of Old Koreelah (which is on the Mount Lindsay Highway). It has a compost toilet and some barbecues, although the grass and weeds are rather long since cattle were evicted about 1999.

title: Koreelah National Park


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Kosciuszko National Park

The Kosciuszko National Park is a 6900 km2 national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilderness, characterised by an alpine climate, which makes it popular with recreational skiers and bushwalkers.

The park is located in the southeastern corner of New South Wales, 354 km southwest of Sydney, and is contiguous with the Alpine National Park in Victoria to the south, and the Namadgi National Park in the Australian Capital Territory to the northeast. The larger towns of Cooma, Tumut and Jindabyne lie just outside and service the park.

The waters of the Snowy River, the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee River, and the Gungarlin River all rise in this park.

Other notable peaks in the park include Gungartan, Mount Jagungal, Bimberi Peak and Mount Townsend.

On 7 November 2008, the park was added to the Australian National Heritage List as one of eleven areas constituting the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves.

History

Multiple Aboriginal groups in the southern part of NSW gathered in the Australian Alps Bioregion in the summer on an annual pilgrimage to the Bogong and Snowy Mountains. Here, the men participated in a feast of bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) that were found on the rocky outcrops of the mountains.

The area was explored by Europeans in 1835, and in 1840, Edmund Strzelecki ascended Mount Kosciuszko and renamed it for Polish patriot and military leader Tadeusz Kościuszko. High-country stockmen followed, using the Snowy Mountains for grazing during the summer months. Banjo Paterson's poem The Man From Snowy River recalls this era. The cattle graziers have left a legacy of mountain huts scattered across the area. Today these huts are maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service or volunteer organisations like the Kosciuszko Huts Association. In the 19th century, gold was mined on the high plains near Kiandra. At its height, this community had a population of about 4,000 people, and ran 14 hotels. It was here that Skiing in Australia commenced around 1861. Since the last resident left in 1974, Kiandra has become a ghost town of ruins and abandoned diggings. In the 20th century, the focus of Skiing in New South Wales shifted south closer to the Kosciuszko Main Range.

The Kosciuszko National Park came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on 5 December 1906. In April 1944, following the passage of the Kosciusko State Park Act, the Kosciusko State Park was proclaimed. It then became the Kosciuszko National Park in 1967. The name was misspelt as Kosciusko until 1997.

The construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme between 1949 and 1974 saw much of the area explored, brought improvements to roads and resulted in the construction of several dams and tunnels across the park in one of the world's largest engineering achievements.

Heritage listings
Kosciuszko National Park has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
 * Currango Homestead

Climate
The higher regions of the park experience an alpine climate which is unusual on mainland Australia. However, only the peaks of the main range are subject to consistent heavy winter snow. The climate station at Charlotte Pass recorded Australia's lowest temperature of -23 C on 28 June 1994.

Glaciation
During the last ice age, which peaked about 20,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch, the highest peaks of the main range near Mount Kosciuszko experienced a climate which favoured the formation of glaciers, evidence of which can still be seen today. Cirques moraines, tarn lakes, roche moutonnées and other glacial features can all be seen in the area. Lake Cootapatamba, which was formed by an ice spilling from Mount Kosciuszko's southern flank, is the highest lake on the Australian mainland. Lake Albina, Club Lake, Blue Lake, and Hedley Tarn also have glacial origins.

There is some disagreement as to exactly how widespread Pleistocene glaciation was on the main range, and little or no evidence from earlier glacial periods exists. The 'David Moraine', a one-kilometre-long ridge running across Spencers Creek valley seems to indicate a larger glacier existed in this area at some time, however the glacial origin of this feature is disputed.

There is evidence of periglacial activity in the area. Solifluction appears to have created terraces on the northwest flank of Mount Northcote. Frost heave is also a significant agent of soil erosion in the Kosciuszko Area.

Ecology

The Kosciuszko National Park covers a variety of climatic regions which support several distinct ecosystems.

That which is most closely identified with the park, the alpine area above the tree line, is one of the most fragile and covers the smallest area. This area is a patchwork of alpine heaths, herbfields, feldmarks, bogs and fens. The windswept feldmark ecotope is endemic to the alpine region, and covers a mere 300000 m2. It is most vulnerable to the wandering footsteps of unmindful tourists.

Nine separate wilderness zones have been identified in the latest management scheme. These include the Indi, Byadbo, Pilot, Jagungal, Bogong Peaks, Goobarragandra, Western Falls, Bramina and Bimberi wilderness areas.

Fauna
Many rare or threatened plant and animal species occur within the boundaries of the park.

The park is home to one of Australia's most threatened species: the corroboree frog. The endangered mountain pygmy possum and the more common dusky antechinus are located in the high country of the park.

There are also significant populations of feral animals in the park, including brumbies or wild horses. Park authorities have coordinated their culling and relocation, leading to public controversy over how to reduce their numbers. The actual number of horses within the park is also difficult to ascertain with estimates ranging from 1,700 in 2008 increasing by 300 each year, 7,679 in 2009, and from 2,500 to 14,000 in 2013–2014. In 2016 the population was estimated to be 6,000. By 2019, this number was found to have more than doubled to 25,000. A 2020 survey placed the number at 14,380. Since the resumption of aerial shooting in Kosciuszko National Park, a total of 5,539 feral horses have been culled. In addition, 427 horses have been removed using other methods such as trapping, rehoming, and ground shooting. According to the latest population surveys conducted in October 2023, it is estimated that there are still approximately 17,000 feral horses in the park. In June 2021, Federal environment minister Sussan Ley wrote to the NSW environment minister Matt Kean saying she planned to introduce regulation under federal environmental laws to protect the park, because the state was failing in its obligation to do so. A management plan for the wild horses was released on 24 November 2021. By June 2027 numbers are planned to be culled down to 3,000.

Flora
Much of the park is dominated by alpine woodlands, characterised by the snow gum. Montane and wet sclerophyll forest also occur across the ranges, supporting large stands of alpine ash and mountain gum. In the southern Byadbo wilderness area, dry sclerophyll and wattle forests predominate. Amongst the many different native trees in the park, the large Chinese elm has become naturalised.

Much of the tree cover in the lower sections of the park was seriously burned in bushfires in 2003. Fires are a natural feature of the park ecosystem, but it will take some time for the region to return to its pre 2003 condition.

Winter
The mountains are typically covered by metre-deep snow for up to four months of the year. The ski resorts of Thredbo, Selwyn snowfields, Perisher and Charlotte Pass lie within the park. The electric rack railway, called the Skitube Alpine Railway, connects the Alpine Way to the Perisher Valley.

Summer
The 655 kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track crosses almost the length of the park. Many thousands of people make the walk to Mount Kosciuszko during the summer. It is 9 kilometres from Charlotte Pass, or 6 kilometres from the Thredbo chairlift. Camping is permitted anywhere in the park except within sight of a road or near a watercourse. The lighting of fires is severely restricted in higher altitudes.

Mountain biking is allowed on all management trails outside of wilderness areas, and on a small number within them: Grey Mare Trail, Round Mountain Trail, Valentine Trail, Hellhole Creek Trail, Cascade Trail, Ingegoodbee Trail and Nine Mile Trail.

Canoeing and swimming in the rivers and lakes are popular in the warmer weather. The rivers and dams are stocked with trout from nearby hatcheries. Seasonal trout fishing is allowed after a permit is obtained. Other attractions include the whitewater rafting, trail riding, Yarrangobilly Caves, Cooleman Caves, Tin Mine Falls, Australia's highest waterfall and Valentine Falls. Guided tours are conducted through several caves in the karst region of Yarrangobilly. Other tours are also available.

Sawpit Creek has a major campground with facilities for caravans and cabins available for rent.

The Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme
The Snowy River originates in the park and flows south to Victoria. Many tunnels, dams, generators and other parts of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydro-electric system are located within the park, including the Tantangara Reservoir and Snowy 2.0 Pumped Storage Power Station.

The Snowy Scheme, constructed between 1949 and 1974, is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex consisting of sixteen major dams; seven power stations; a pumping station; and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts. The chief engineer was Sir William Hudson. It is the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia. An 8 km powerline is planned through the area.

title: Kosciuszko National Park


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Kumbatine National Park

Kumbatine  is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, 332 km northeast of Sydney.

Geography
Glencoe Creek is located wholly within Kumbatine National Park.

The most prominent and highest mountain in the national park is Mount Kippara with an altitude of 484 metres.

title: Kumbatine National Park


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Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a national park on the northern side of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The 14977 ha park is 25 km north of the Sydney central business district and generally comprises the land east of the M1 Pacific Motorway, south of the Hawkesbury River, west of Pittwater and north of Mona Vale Road. It includes Barrenjoey Headland on the eastern side of Pittwater.

Ku-ring-gai Chase is a popular tourist destination, known for its scenic setting on the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater, significant plant and animal communities, Aboriginal sites and European historic places. Picnic, boating, and fishing facilities can be found throughout the park. There are many walking tracks in Ku-ring-gai Chase. The villages of Cottage Point, Appletree Bay, Elvina Bay, Lovett Bay, Coasters Retreat, Great Mackerel Beach and Bobbin Head are located within the park boundaries.

The park was declared in 1894, and is the third oldest national park in Australia. The park is managed by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service and was added to the Australian National Heritage List in December 2006.

The park gets its name from the Guringai Aboriginal people who were long thought to be the traditional owners of the area. However, more contemporary research suggests that this was not the case.

Geology
Ku-ring-gai Chase is part of the Hornsby Plateau, a massive block of sandstone tilting upwards to the north. The park comprises a plateau with an elevation of generally 150–200 m above sea level. Between 250 and 200 million years ago, sand silt and mud was deposited by rivers across flood plains. These formed the shales, flagstones and sandstones of the Narrabeen Group that outcrop along the foreshores and ridges. Higher areas of the park are underlain with pink, white and orange layers of Hawkesbury Sandstone that contain small beds of shale. Wianamatta Group shale is present in the higher points of the park. The park's terraced landscape is due to the horizontal arrangement of these sediment layers.

Other rock types in the park are less common. Soils derived from the Narrabeen group of shales are around the eastern shore of the Lambert Peninsula, particularly around Elvina Bay and Lovett Bay. These richer soils provide for a vegetation type different from that of the sandy ridge top soils, providing for forests of spotted gums (Corymbia maculata) with forest oaks as a secondary layer. Eroded remnants of volcanic dykes occur including at Resolution Picnic Area at West Head and Campbells Crater near Cowan, which provide for forests of Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna).

More recent volcanic activity has forced small intrusions of igneous rock into the sandstone. A band of dolerite runs across the West Head peninsula near White Horse Beach, providing fertile soils for a distinct group of plants. The Smith's Creek area has intrusions of breccia.

The plateau is divided into separate sections by the steep valleys of Cowan Creek, Coal and Candle Creek, and Smiths Creek. These "flooded" or "drowned" valleys, knowns as rias, were eroded into the sandstone much deeper than the current sea level during the glacial phases of the Pleistocene ice age. When the ice caps melted about 10,000 years ago, the sea levels rose and flooded the valleys of the park, and separated Lion and Scotland islands from the mainland. The tributaries of Pittwater and Cowan Creek became bays and inlets along and extended shoreline.

The dominant rock type is Hawkesbury Sandstone which determines the topography and the vegetation in the sandy soils. Sandstone cliffs, rocky and outcrops, and worn caves are common throughout the park.

Indigenous people engraved the flat sandstone outcrops.

Tessellated pavements are found in the park whereby regular chequered patterns in the stone form along fault lines and lines of weakness.

The park's highest point is 246 m at Willunga Trig near West Head Road which runs along the ridge of the Lambert Peninsula.

Pre-European history
The name Ku-ring-gai (also spelled Kuringgai, Kuring-gai, Guringai, Kuriggai) is an ethnonym referring to (a) an hypothesis regarding an aggregation of Indigenous Australian peoples occupying the territory between the southern borders of the Gamilaraay and the area around Sydney (b) perhaps an historical people with its own distinctive language, located in part of that territory, or (c) people of Aboriginal origin who identify themselves as descending from the original peoples denoted by (a) or (b) and who call themselves Guringai.

Little about the original inhabitants was recorded by Europeans at contact and their communities were soon destroyed through disease and conflict with European settlers.

The national park contains extensive evidence of Aboriginal occupation of the area prior to European contact, across more than 800 sites in the park. These include rock engravings, cave drawings, occupation sites, paintings and stencils, axe grinding grooves and middens providing significant evidence of the way of life of the Guringai people.

Park history
In 1788, the first year of English settlement of the Sydney area, Governor Phillip and a small party explored Borken Bay and the Hawkesbury River, but seeking agricultural land, they showed little interest in the steep and stony landscapes.

It was previously underdeveloped by early settlers due to poor accessibility and low soil fertility, except for some of the more fertile ridgetops. The area's Sydney Blue Gum, Blackbutt, Turpentine, and Coachwood was extracted in small quantities, but Red Cedar was heavily extracted. Sawmills were established in the 1830s, including at the upper reaches of Cowan Creek where Duffy's Wharf was built to transport logs.

The Pacific Highway and Main Northern railway line built along the ridgetop forming the park's current western border provided access to Cowan Creek along which pioneers settled. 40 hectares at Gerard Point, now Church Point, were granted to James Terry of Gordon.

Following almost 40 years of lobbying from a local citizen, Eccleston Du Faur, to establish a "National Park for North Sydney", approximately 13,500 hectares, including not only land areas but also most of Cowan Water, was set aside in 1894 as Ku-ring-gai Chase as a conservation area, and placed under the care, control and management of trustees. Du Faur was a surveyor and engineer by profession, and his interests included science, exploration, natural history and the arts. Upon the gazetting of the gazetting of the park, du Faur was appointed Managing Trustee and during his 10-year tenure, he developed walking trails and a road to Bobbin Head, which is now a fire trail.

Bobbin Head Inn, picnic shelters, and boat shed concessions were established to raise much needed funds for park management. Picnic areas were created with the reclamation of mud flats at Appletree Bay, Bobbin Head, Illawong Bay, and Akuna Bay between 1910 and 1940.

The area around West Head had been held privately until it was added to the park in 1951. In 1918, owners of a 640 hectare lot in Commodore Heights lobbied for a road to be pushed through from the south. A 1927 prospectus proposed a community of 2,500 residences with a country club, casino, golf course, and hotel, however, the plans did not eventuate due to the Depression.

Ku-ring-gai Chase became a national park with the proclamation of the National Parks and Wildlife Act in 1967. It is the third oldest national park in Australia, with the Royal National Park being the oldest. Additions to the park have made it 14,882 hectares in size. The park is managed by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service and was added to the Australian National Heritage List in December 2006. The term "chase" indicates it was an area of natural bush not enclosed by fences. Ku-ring-gai Chase is also officially classed as a suburb by the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales.

The television series, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo was shot in northern Sydney at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the adjacent Waratah Park. Bushfires ravaged the park in January 1994.

A seaplane on its way to Sydney Harbour crashed into Jerusalem Bay shortly after takeoff from on 31 December 2017, killing the pilot and five passengers.

Locations, access and facilities
Many of the park's attractions are accessible only by walking track. Many kilometres of the park front the shores of Broken Bay, Pittwater and Cowan Creek, making it a good place to explore by boat. Railway stations are at Mount Colah, Mount Kuring-gai, Berowra and Cowan. All roads in the area are sealed and all have collection gates where a daily fee is payable.

 * Bobbin Head is located on Cowan Creek and facilities include a marina, picnic areas, a small store, and a lunch-time restaurant in what used to be the Bobbin Head Inn, which also contains an information centre. The area contains many fire trails and a walk through mangroves. Aboriginal engravings can be seen in the area.
 * Appletree Bay is a picnic area with a boat ramp and jetty, toilets, picnic tables and barbecues.
 * The Basin is a lagoon with a beach on the west side of Pittwater. It has picnic areas and is the only location in the national park where camping is permitted. Access is either by West Head Road via The Basin Track or on a ferry from Palm Beach Wharf.
 * West Head is a headland at the north eastern tip of the National Park. A lookout, with views of Barrenjoey, Palm Beach and Broken Bay, has been built on West Head. The Flint & Steel Guesthouse was one of the first buildings on West Head. Gun emplacements were built for WW2 defences, and a bushtrack still leads down to their remnants.
 * Barrenjoey headland is at the northern end of Palm Beach and is not joined to the rest of the Park by land but separated by 1 kilometre of water, the Pittwater. It is the site the historic Barrenjoey Head Lighthouse, constructed in 1880.
 * The Sphinx Memorial is a sandstone monument commemorating the fallen Australian Imperial Force comrades of William Shirley during World War I and was created by the returned soldier in the 1920s. The Sphinx took about one and a half years to complete.
 * Cottage Point is Sydney's smallest locality and is listed as a heritage conservation area. Cottage Point Kiosk and Boat Hire, built around 1918, is situated at Cottage Point at the entrance to Coal and Candle Creek.
 * Jerusalem Bay is accessible by a track which is part of the Great North Walk from Cowan railway station next to the Pacific Highway. The track passes through a creek gorge lined with temperate rainforest and large turpentines before opening to the bay. At the bay is an old abandoned habitation site. It opens out to Cowan Water and Broken Bay making it popular with boating and fishing enthusiasts. After the bay the track proceeds up a steep climb past Campbell's Crater and along the ridge to Brooklyn. Campbell's Crater is a volcanic diatreme containing subtropical rainforest species such as Red Cedars and Cabbage Palms with a floor of ferns.

title: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park


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Kwiambal National Park

Kwiambal is a national park in New South Wales, Australia located about 30 km from the town of Ashford. The Severn River and Macintyre River both flow through and finally converge in the park below the MacIntyre falls. The park is studded with granite outcrops and also features the Ashford Caves.

This secluded nature reserve near Inverell offers cheap accommodation, great places for picnics, swimming, mountain biking, fishing and bird watching.

History
The park was gazetted on 10 May 2000 and described as "County Arrawatta, Parishes Ena, Limestone and Severn, about 1301 hectares". A 2008 report on a vegetation survey by Dr John T. Hunter gives the area as 6,517 hectares.

title: Kwiambal National Park


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Talk:Hydrogen

Move the main image to the phase section and replace it with a new one.
The current main image is hydrogen in its plasma state, but it would make more sense to move that to Hydrogen. Then replace it with a new better image. Bennett27 (talk) 01:54, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

Infrastructure
I would welcome your thoughts at Talk:Hydrogen infrastructure Chidgk1 (talk) 18:00, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Hydrogen economy which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 07:33, 19 February 2024 (UTC)

Inaccurate to say hydrogen is "explosive" at 4% to 74% in air. This is its flammability range.
Hydrogen's explosivity is listed here as 4% to 74% in air. It's more accurate to say its limit of detonability is 18% to 59%. See, for example, https://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/h2_safety_fsheet.pdf, or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety "inerting and purging

This should be amended in the first paragraphs of the "properties" section. Saying it is explosive at 4% gives a false impression about its risks, and feeds into a common misconception that flammability limit = detonation limit. Indeed, citation [21] refers to flammability range, and does not appear to mention explosive mixtures.51.194.9.191 (talk) 13:33, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Hydrogen


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Lane Cove National Park

The Lane Cove National Park is a protected national park that is located within metropolitan Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The 670 ha national park is situated about 10 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and features various vegetation types, such as, wet and dry sclerophyll forest, heathland, mangroves and tidal flats. The park consists of land near the banks of the Lane Cove River, which flows generally south-east into Sydney Harbour. It also extends to the outskirts of Pennant Hills and Wahroonga at its northern boundaries.

Features and location
The park includes areas of land which are part of Ku-ring-gai, Ryde, and Hornsby local government areas with small areas of the park in Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunter's Hill local government areas on the banks of the lower reaches of the river. The park is surrounded on all sides by developed suburban areas and except for the upper northwestern region is never more than a kilometre wide. Much of the park is of fairly rugged terrain on the slopes of the river valley and covered by dense bush. The characteristics of the bush vary depending upon soils and topography. Parts of the park are affected by weed infestations, such as Fiddens Wharf and Fairyland.

The central section of the park, between De Burghs Bridge on Ryde Road and Fullers Bridge, was set aside as a park in the 1920s and developed with picnic areas interspersed in the bush along the banks of the river. The majority of these picnic areas are located between the Fuller's Road bridge and the road that leads towards the Tourist Park. North of this point the area becomes more rugged and there are no picnic areas until the Tunks Hill (previously known as Tunks Farm) area which is away from the river behind the garden nursery on Lane Cove Road.

A weir was constructed in the 1930s near Fullers Bridge which converted the middle section of the river from tidal salt-water to a fresh-water area with constant water level suitable for recreational use in rowing boats and canoes. This area was managed by a trust and was called Lane Cove River Park. In 1982, the Government of New South Wales took over direct control of the park which was then called Lane Cove Regional Park. Various nearby areas of undeveloped government land near the river upstream and downstream from the central area including an area around Pennant Hills Park has also been added to the national park. It was then renamed Lane Cove National Park in 1992. See history for further information.

A fish ladder has been constructed next to the weir to enable Australian bass to access the freshwater breeding grounds upstream of the weir. Fishing is allowed in parts of the Lane Cove River as per restrictions managed by Department of Primary Industries.

The Lane Cove National Park is popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists. The Lane Cove River Tourist Park, operated by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, is located within Lane Cove National Park.

Friends Of Lane Cove National ParkV was formed after the 1994 bushfires and runs volunteer bushcare groups through the park areas. The group also sources grants for bushland regeneration works.

The main walking track along the Lane Cove River forms part of the Great North Walk from Sydney CBD to Newcastle. This track incorporates a number of old tracks that were, in many cases, old logging trails.

Flora
Common native plant species throughout the park include grass-trees, smooth-barked apples, old man banksias, flannel flowers, scribbly gums, and Wonga Wonga vines. See Friends of Lane Cove National Park list of what's flowering in the park.

Fauna
The park is home to a variety of native bird species, including brushturkeys, kookaburras, superb fairywrens, crimson rosellas, sulphur-crested cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets, and eastern whipbirds. Non-native birds such as common mynas and red-whiskered bulbuls also occupy the park. Common reptiles include the Eastern Water Dragon and lace monitors, whilst common mammals include swamp wallabies and echidnas. See Friends of Lane Cove National Park list of fauna observed in the park.

Urban issues affecting the Park
The park's position in the middle of a major metropolis necessitates compromises between the social desire for maintaining a pristine environment, and the need for urban development. Two examples of this compromise are:
 * 1) The M2 Hills Motorway crosses the National Park at Epping and is clearly visible for kilometres to bushwalkers traveling along Terry's Creek.
 * 2) In 2014 Sydney Water began rebuilding a 3.3 kilometre section of wastewater pipe located beside Terrys Creek, and running through bushland between Forrester Park, Eastwood and Browns Waterhole in the Lane Cove National Park, South Turramurra.  This involved upgrading access tracks to the pipeline.

title: Lane Cove National Park


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Macquarie Pass National Park

Macquarie Pass National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 90 km southwest of Sydney. It is located around the pass of the same name, which is on the Illawarra Highway and part of the Illawarra escarpment.

Macquarie Pass National Park was established in 1970 and protects a range of eucalypt forests and rainforest, including one of Australia's most southerly stands of subtropical rainforest. The pass was opened in 1898. It has been a major route into and out of the Illawarra coastal plain ever since. There is a major power line running east–west through the park.

As well as a diverse array of birdlife the park has swamp wallabies and wombats.

History
The area was heavily logged for cedar in the first half of the 19th century.

Facilities
Picnic facilities are provided at two sites at the bottom of Macquarie Pass. Barbecues are provided at two other picnic areas.

Walking tracks
The Macquarie Rivulet track is two kilometres long and easy to medium grade. A track goes along 30 metres to a parking area near a picnic area and rivulet. An old track continues on along the north side of the rivulet which is flat for several hundred metres, then becomes steeper, dropping back to the rivulet by a large boulder. Birds which may be seen here include dollarbird, azure kingfisher, sacred kingfisher, golden whistler, yellow-throated scrubwren, black-faced monarch and rufous fantail.

The Cascade Falls Walk is a one kilometre track, easy grade. It goes beside Cascade Creek at the base of Macquarie Pass to a small waterfall. Birds found here include green catbird, rose robin, red-browed finch, yellow-throated scrubwren, brown gerygone, Lewin's honeyeater, crimson rosella. Fungi are apparent here.

Clover Hill Road is a 3.5 kilometre track, easy grade. It follows a maintenance trail to Macquarie Rivulet and several waterfalls and a large boulder. The track goes to a parking area after 3 kilometres. The track then deteriorates near a Turpentine grove. It then comes to a dilapidated concrete causeway over the rivulet. Crossing it, it goes to Rainbow Falls and a balancing rock. The rock is about 50 metres tall and the waterfall is behind it. Birds here include white-throated treecreeper, large-billed gerygone, Bassian thrush, topknot pigeon, brown cuckoo-dove, wonga pigeon, Australian king parrot, grey goshawk, Lewin's honeyeater, and nocturnal spotlighting may produce a powerful or sooty owl.

The Glenview walk is a two kilometre track, easy grade. It goes through tall forest past power lines and eastwards, ceasing at the park boundary. Birds here include variegated fairy-wren, brush cuckoo, fan-tailed cuckoo, crested shrike-tit, golden bronze-cuckoo.

The Upper Cascade Creek Walk is a two kilometre track of moderate grade.

The Brown Barrel Walk is an easy to moderate grade track half a kilometre in length that goes from Nurrewin past power lines and through rainforest and moist eucalypt forest. Birds here include superb lyrebird, pilotbird, cicadabird, logrunner, rose robin, golden whistler, king parrot, topknot pigeon. Its name derives from Eucalyptus fastigata, or brown barrel.

The Mount Murray Road Track is a one and a half kilometre track of easy grade. It follows the powerline easement in a loop track. Birds include red-browed treecreeper, satin flycatcher, black-faced monarch and rufous fantails in late spring to autumn months.

Locality
The locality of Macquarie Pass is defined as a suburb of the City of Shellharbour, "containing, more or less, the Macquarie Pass National Park, about 11 km west of Albion Park". At the, it had no population.

title: Macquarie Pass National Park


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Mallanganee National Park

The Mallanganee National Park is a protected national park located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The 1144 ha park is located approximately 570 km north of Sydney and can be located via via the Bruxner Highway and the Summerland Way.

The park is part of the Focal Peak Group World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007. The average altitude of the terrain is 260 metres.

title: Mallanganee National Park