Paluma Range National Park

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Paluma Range National Park
Paluma Range NP - Australia's southernmost tropical rainforest
Paluma Range NP - Australia's southernmost tropical rainforest
Paluma Range National Park (Queensland)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 18 ° 52 ′ 0 ″  S , 146 ° 7 ′ 0 ″  E
Location: Queensland , Australia
Specialty: Rainforest
Next city: 37 mile (s) from Townsville
Surface: 763.71 km²
Founding: 1994
Jägerlieste (Dacelo)
Jägerlieste ( Dacelo )
Grouse (Alectura lathami)
Grouse ( Alectura lathami )
Freshwater turtles
Freshwater turtles
i2 i3 i6

The Paluma Range National Park (English Paluma Range National Park ) is a 764 square kilometer national park in Queensland , Australia . A large part has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site Wet Tropics of Queensland since 1988 because of its natural beauty, biological diversity , evolutionary history and as a habitat for numerous endangered animal species . The park is also part of the Paluma Important Bird Area , which is home to numerous endemic and endangered bird species. It is characterized by tropical rainforest along the mountain range of the Paluma Range with the 1000 meter high Mount Spec .

location

The park is located in the North Queensland region , about 40 miles northwest of Townsville and 25 miles south of Ingham . The two main attractions of the park, Mount Spec with the McClelland lookout point and the Jourama waterfalls can be reached from the Bruce Highway at Mutarnee or about 10 kilometers north of it. In the rainy season, the river crossings to the Jourama waterfalls can become impassable.

The national parks Halifax Bay Wetlands , Orpheus Island , Magnetic Island and Pinnacles are in the vicinity .

history

The Paluma Range and the small town of Paluma are named after a Queensland government research vessel, the HMS Paluma , which mapped the coast of northern Queensland in the 1880s and 1890s.

Paluma, formerly known as Cloudy Clearing , was founded in 1875 when tin was discovered in the area . Mine activity peaked in 1905, but soon became less due to the remote location and the resulting high transport costs. Remnants of this time can still be found in the national park today.

Rich in high quality woods, wood was felled throughout the area from the early 1930s to the mid 1970s.

During the Second World War , Mount Spec, which is almost 1,000 meters high, was selected by the US Army as a radar base. As a result, the city of Townsville was successfully warned of an air raid in July 1942. The station was closed in 1945.

Flora and fauna

The deeply carved plateau of the Paluma Range is a labyrinth of watercourses. Different animal and plant communities are at home here, depending on the altitude, climate and soil conditions. In the higher, humid areas there is tropical rainforest, in the lower, dry areas eucalyptus forests .

Along the rivers, lined with forest oaks ( Allocasuarina torulosa ) and myrtle heather, live hawk pigeons , garden fan tails , hunter's lairs ( dacelo ) and agile wallabies .

In the rainforests one can find the rare chowchillas ( Orthonyx spaldingii ), panther birds ( Acanthiza katherina ) and column gardeners ( Amblyornis newtonianus ). In addition, the more common bush chickens ( Alectura lathami ), golden-eared honey-eaters ( Meliphaga lewinii ), ring- tailed frogs , Northern Barred Frogs ( Mixophyes schevilli ) and the great white- tailed rat ( Uromys caudimaculatus ). The Paluma Range is also part of the range of the Victoria Bird of Paradise .

Web links

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. ↑ Official website of the park - Jourama Falls - Culture , Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , accessed October 7, 2012 (English)
  4. ↑ Important Bird Areas (IBAs) - Paluma , www.birdlife.org, accessed on October 7, 2012 (English)
  5. ↑ Official Park Website - Mount Spec - About , Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , accessed October 7, 2012
  6. ^ Official website of the park - Jourama Falls - About , Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , accessed October 7, 2012 (English)
  7. ↑ a b Official website of the park - Mount Spec - Culture , Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , accessed October 7, 2012 (English)
  8. ↑ PJ Higgins, JM Peter and SJ Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2006, ISBN 978-0-195-55884-5 . P. 644