Bald Rock National Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bald Rock National Park is a national park in northern New South Wales, Australia, just north of Tenterfield on the Queensland border. On the other side of the border national park continues, the Girraween National Park.
The park is named after its most prominent feature, Bald Rock, which is a large granite outcrop rising about 200 metres above the surrounding landscape. Access to the rock is provided by a sealed road into the park and walking tracks to the summit. Two tracks are marked, a steep one up the exposed face, or an easier gradient through bushland around the back. The summit offers panoramic views of the surrounding bushland, but vegetation on top prevents a full 360° view.
The park is in the New England granite belt, where about 220 million years ago an extrusion of molten rock pushed through older sedimentary and volcanic rocks producing the local Stanthorpe Adamellite granite. This geology created an inselberg landscape with many exposed granite rocks, some balancing on top of each other, or forming natural arches. The walking track going up the back of Bald Rock leads through such an arch.
Just off the road beside the park is Thunderbolt's Hideout, a set of caves and overhanging granite rocks. It was thought to have been used by bushranger Captain Thunderbolt
[edit] Fact sheet
- Area: 75 km²
- Coordinates:
- Date of establishment: November 12, 1971
- Managing authorities: New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
- IUCN category: II
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Bald Rock National Park at the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
- Captain Thunderbolt's Hideout at NSW Schools Country Area Program
