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Protected Area

Purnululu National Park

National Park

Purnululu National Park lies in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia, about 300 kilometers south of Kununurra. Established in 1987, it covers roughly 2,397 square kilometers and contains the Bungle Bungle Range, a formation of beehive-shaped sandstone towers up to 250 meters high, marked by distinctive black and orange bands produced by cyanobacteria that stabilize the ancient rock surface. UNESCO inscribed the park as a World Heritage Site in 2003 for these formations, which represent outstanding examples of cone karst shaped by roughly 20 million years of erosion.

Facts
Classification
Governance Type
Governance by Government 1
Realm
Terrestrial 1
International Designation
UNESCO World Heritage Site 1
Governing Body
Governing Body (category)
Australian state parks service 1
Governing Body
WA Department of Parks and Wildlife 1
FAQs

Why do geologists value the Bungle Bungle sandstone towers?

They show how cone karst forms on sandstone; the process still not completely understood.

UNESCO calls the sandstone karst of Purnululu National Park of great scientific importance because it demonstrates so clearly the process of cone karst formation on sandstone. This is a phenomenon that geomorphologists recognised only recently and that is still not completely understood. The beehive-shaped towers of the Bungle Bungle Range are the main example.
Sources
1. Purnululu National Park (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Wikipedia lead extract, realm terrestrial
    The Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Site in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia.
  • Infobox: governing_body
    WA Department of Parks and Wildlife
  • Lead section
    Declared a World Heritage Site in 2003, the park was inscribed as follows: ...[is a] remote area managed as wilderness. It includes the Bungle Bungle Range, a spectacularly incised landscape of sculptured rocks which contains superlative examples of beehive-shaped karst sandstone rising 250 metres above the surrounding semi-arid savannah grasslands.
View the Source
Wikidata: Purnululu National Park
Wikidata Q679568, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Wikidata: Australia
On Continent: Australia, Wikidata item for Australia, property P30 (continent)View the Source
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