Geikie Gorge National Park

Geikie Gorge National Park
	Geikie Gorge
Location:	Western Australia , Australia
Specialty:	Canyon of the Fitzroy River
Next city:	Fitzroy Crossing - Broome - Derby
Surface:	122 km²
Founding:	1967
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The Geikie Gorge National Park is located in Western Australia 390 km east of Broome and 280 km from Derby . The national park is located in the Kimberley region and can be reached on a paved road from Fitzroy Crossing, 20 km away .

The Geikie Gorge - a canyon with 50-100 m high limestone walls - was named in 1883 after Sir Archibald Geikie , the director general of the Geological Society of London (Sir Archibald never saw it). The Bunaba , an Aboriginal tribe who call the area Darngku , live in the national park established in 1967 .

geology

The Gogo Formation , to which the Geikie Gorge belongs - a 350 million year old Devonian reef - extends for 350 km parallel to the granite edge of the geologically much older Kimberley Plateau ( King Leopold Ranges ). The history of development is comparable to that of the Windjana Gorge and comprises two stages: The first stage is the elevation of the Devonian seabed about 250 million years ago with subsequent limestone formation. The reef was then covered by younger sedimentary rocks . About 20 million years ago there was a second uplift with subsequent erosion of the younger rock, so that the underlying older limestone , which had formed calcareous algae , stromatopores and corals, came out again.

Today's landscape was formed by the Fitzroy River , which can rise more than 16 meters in the rainy season . The respective water level leaves streaks in the walls of the soft limestone that are easy to see.

Fossils of the Devonian marine animals are well preserved in some parts of the rock faces.

fauna and Flora

There are freshwater crocodiles in the river that stretch out on sunny rocky outcrops during the day. Barramundis can be fished.

Numerous bird species populate the park, for example various herons and cormorants , reed warblers and bower birds , more rarely ospreys and white-bellied sea eagles .

Large colonies of flying foxes often hang in the eucalyptus and myrtle heather trees on the banks of the river .

Tourism in the national park

The Fitzroy River with its limestone gorge can be navigated by boats and small excursion boats during the dry season (April to November).

Several shorter hiking trails open up part of the gorge walls and the sandy shore area over approx. 3 km.

The park is only open during the day and does not include camping facilities.

literature

Tyler, Ian: Geology and Landforms of the Kimberley, 2005, ISBN 0-7309-6852-9

Web links

Geikie-Gorge-National Park (English)
Geikie Gorge tours (English)
Information about the national park (German)