Magnetic Island National Park

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Magnetic Island National Park
Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island
Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island
Magnetic Island National Park (Queensland)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 19 ° 8 ′ 9 ″  S , 146 ° 50 ′ 32 ″  E
Location: Queensland , Australia
Specialty: Lights eucalyptus forest, mangroves, rock kangaroos, koalas
Next city: Townsville
Surface: 27.9 km²
Founding: 1954
Magnetic Island as seen from Townsville
Magnetic Island as seen from Townsville
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The Magnetic Island National Park (English: Magnetic Island National Park ) is a national park in the east of the Australian state of Queensland .

location

The national park covers more than half of Magnetic Island , which is about 1,122 kilometers northwest of Brisbane and 20 kilometers north of Townsville off the coast.

Magnetic Island is a 30-minute ferry ride from Townsville Harbor.

history

The Aboriginal tribe of the Walgurukaba lived on the island and the adjacent mainland for thousands of years. Køkkenmøddinger and remains of old stone tools and artifacts still bear witness to this today .

The island was named after Captain James Cook in 1770, who thought that the island's land mass would influence his compass. Since the European settlement, the island served as a source for the wood of the New Guinea araucaria (English hoop pine), as a quarantine station for the port of Townsville and as a tourist destination as early as the beginning of the 19th century. Pineapple plantations were later planted and fortresses were built for national defense during World War II .

National nature

The granite island was formed on the continental shelf when the sea level rose 7,500 years ago. Today the whole island is surrounded by sandy beaches and coral reefs.

Flora and fauna

The island is mainly covered with sparse eucalyptus forest, in which you can also find New Guinea araucarias and kapok trees . There are remains of rainforest on the capes and mangrove forests along the coasts .

Sea turtles nest at the stands, and the mangrove forests provide good habitat for fish. Dugongs live in the seagrass forests off the coast of the island . Rock kangaroos can be seen inland and koalas can be seen in the forests . The Bushtriele ( Burhinus grallarius ) are still common on Magnetic Island.

Facilities and access

Camping is not permitted in the national park. But there are many hiking trails and picnic areas on the island.

Web links

Commons : Magnetic Island  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 2010 ( MS Excel ; 170 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
  2. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 1997 ( MS Excel ; 93 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
  3. ^ Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007. ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 . P. 13
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Magnetic Island National Park . Department of Environment and Resource Management. Retrieved November 26, 2012