Bladensburg National Park

Bladensburg is a national park in Shire of Winton, Queensland, Australia.[1]

Bladensburg National Park
Queensland
IUCN category II (national park)
Scrammy Gorge, 2011
Bladensburg National Park
Nearest town or cityWinton
Coordinates22°30′12″S 142°59′17″E
Established1984
Area849 km2 (327.8 sq mi)
Managing authoritiesQueensland Parks and Wildlife Service
WebsiteBladensburg National Park
See alsoProtected areas of Queensland

Geography

The park is 1152 km northwest of Brisbane, and just south of the town of Winton.

Birds common to the area include the painted firetail, rufous-crowned emu-wren and rufous-throated honeyeater.[2]

Landforms

The park features grassland plains, river flats, sandstone ranges and flat-topped mesas.[3] The main watercourse in the park is the often dry Surprise Creek.[2] During floods the creek becomes a braided channel.

The landscape to the south of the park has dissected tablelands with mesas and buttes and to the far south are flat sand plains.[2]

History

Bladensburg lies in the area of what was once Koa tribal territory and, on white settlement, was taken over to run a sheep station, and is now a protected area containing areas of high biodiversity. It is situated predominantly in the Goneaway Tablelands subregion of the Channel Country bioregion, but also contains some of the Mitchell Grass Downs bioregion. The original Bladensburg homestead, which was probably transported to the site some time in the 1910s, houses the park's visitor information centre today.[4]

The 84,900 hectares of national park were declared in 1984.

Attractions

The park contains dinosaur fossils as well as Aboriginal story places and ceremonial grounds.[4] Skull Hole, a waterhole in the park was the site of an aboriginal massacre known as the Bladensburg Massacre.[4]

Facilities

Access to the park is by 16 km of road from Winton.[2] Camping is permitted beside Surprise Creek.[3] No water is available.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Bladensburg National Park (entry 39380)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  2. Shilton, Peter (2005). Natural Areas of Queensland. Mount Gravatt, Queensland: Goldpress. pp. 288–290. ISBN 0-9758275-0-2.
  3. "Bladensburg National Park". Tourism Queensland. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  4. Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2002). Heritage Trails of the Queensland Outback. State of Queensland. p. 75. ISBN 0-7345-1040-3.
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