Cocoparra National Park
Encyclopedia
Cocoparra is a national park in New South Wales
(Australia
), 457 km west of Sydney.
Cocoparra National Park is located 25 kilometres northwest of Griffith, in the Riverina
region of south western New South Wales. It includes a prominent range of hills such as Bingar Mountain, 455 metres above sea level and Brogden Mountain, 390 metres above sea level, in an otherwise largely flat landscape. Adjoining the national park to the north is Cocoparra Nature Reserve. The national park was gazetted in 1969 and has an area of 8358 hectares. The nature reserve was dedicated in 1963 with an area of 4647 hectares (Cocoparra National Park Plan of Management 1995). The Binya-Cocoparra area is classified by BirdLife International
as an Important Bird Area
because of its relatively large population (of up to 50 individuals) of the near threatened
Painted Honeyeater
, as well as the Diamond Firetail
.
The climate is semi arid. The vegetation communities reflect this, with wattles, orchids, ironbark
and blue-tinged cypress pines
.
The geology comprises Upper Devonian sandstones, siltsones and conglomerates
.
There are a number of day use (picnic) areas in the park and a campground at Woolshed Flat.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), 457 km west of Sydney.
Cocoparra National Park is located 25 kilometres northwest of Griffith, in the Riverina
Riverina
The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
region of south western New South Wales. It includes a prominent range of hills such as Bingar Mountain, 455 metres above sea level and Brogden Mountain, 390 metres above sea level, in an otherwise largely flat landscape. Adjoining the national park to the north is Cocoparra Nature Reserve. The national park was gazetted in 1969 and has an area of 8358 hectares. The nature reserve was dedicated in 1963 with an area of 4647 hectares (Cocoparra National Park Plan of Management 1995). The Binya-Cocoparra area is classified by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
because of its relatively large population (of up to 50 individuals) of the near threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
Painted Honeyeater
Painted Honeyeater
The Painted Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Grantiella.It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests...
, as well as the Diamond Firetail
Diamond Firetail
The Diamond Firetail Stagonopleura guttata is a species of estrildid finch found in eastern Australia, from Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, to south-eastern Queensland, commonly found on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The bird lives in eucalypt forest and woodland, mallee country,...
.
The climate is semi arid. The vegetation communities reflect this, with wattles, orchids, ironbark
Ironbark
Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus Eucalyptus that have dark, deeply furrowed bark....
and blue-tinged cypress pines
Callitris
Callitris is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae . There are 15 species in the genus, of which 13 are native to Australia and the other two native to New Caledonia. Traditionally the most widely used common name is cypress-pine, a name shared by the closely related genus Actinostrobus...
.
The geology comprises Upper Devonian sandstones, siltsones and conglomerates
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
.
There are a number of day use (picnic) areas in the park and a campground at Woolshed Flat.
See also
- Protected areas of New South WalesProtected areas of New South WalesThe Protected areas of New South Wales include both terrestrial and aquatic protected areas. At 30 June 2010 there were 776 separate terrestrial protected areas with a total land area of . 189 of these are national parks, totalling...