Undara Volcanic National Park

Undara Volcanic National Park
Queensland
IUCN category II (national park)
Undara Lava Tubes
Undara Volcanic National Park
Nearest town or city Mount Surprise, Queensland
Coordinates 18°12′4″S 144°35′46″E / 18.20111°S 144.59611°E / -18.20111; 144.59611Coordinates: 18°12′4″S 144°35′46″E / 18.20111°S 144.59611°E / -18.20111; 144.59611
Established 1993
Area 615 km²
Managing authorities Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
See also Protected areas of Queensland
Undara Lava Tubes

Undara Volcanic is a national park in North Queensland, Australia. It is notable for its lava tubes and gem fossicking. Minerals found there include topaz, moonstone, peridot, aquamarine, garnet, quartz and gold. The park contains the remains of the Earth’s longest flow of lava originating from a single volcanic crater.[1]. The lava flow is about 160 km long.[2] The park is remote, and accessible from the regional centres of Townsville or Cairns.

The area is situated within the McBride volcanic province and contains 164 volcanoes, vents and cones. The lava tubes are regarded amongst the largest and longest on the planet. The word Undara is aboriginal in origin and means a long way.[3]

The volcanic activity that formed the tubes occurred approximately 189,000 years ago[4] and the volcano Undara expelled massive amounts of lava onto the surrounding Atherton Tableland. In total it was estimated that over 23 billion cubic metres of lava was released covering an area of 1550 km2.

Bayliss Cave is the remains of a lava tube that was once over 100 kilometres (62 mi) in length. The cave itself is over 1,300 metres (4,265 ft) in length, 11 metres (36 ft) high and 22 metres (72 ft) wide. It is described as a "bad air cave" with measured carbon dioxide levels as high as 5.9%.[5]

In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Undara Volcanic National Park was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction".[6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Undara Volcanic National Park". Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland). 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  2. ↑ Lopes, R. (2010). Volcanoes: A Beginner's Guide. Oneworld.
  3. ↑ "Savannah Guides - Undara Experience". 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Benjamin E.; Mark, Darren F.; Fallon, Stewart J.; Stephenson, P. Jon. "Holocene-Neogene volcanism in northeastern Australia: Chronology and eruption history". Quaternary Geochronology. 39: 79–91. doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2017.01.003.
  5. ↑ "Undara Volcanic National Park - Tunnels to the Underworld". 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  6. ↑ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.

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