Organ Pipes National Park
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Organ Pipes is a national park in Victoria (Australia), 23 km northwest of Melbourne.
| Organ Pipes National Park | |
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| Location | Victoria, Australia |
| Nearest City | Melbourne |
| Coordinates | Template:Coor dms |
| Area | 1.21 km² |
| Date of Establishment | 1972 |
| Governing Bodies | Parks Victoria |
| IUCN category | III |
The park was established in 1972 on what was then degraded farmland around the gully formed by Jackson's Creek in an attempt to reestablish an area of the indigenous vegetation of the district, which has been almost completely lost through farming and urban development. The particular site was chosen because of the presence of several interesting geological features, including the "Organ Pipes" themselves - a pattern of vertical pipe-like rock strucks exposed by the erosion of the creek - and a "tesselated pavement", where the rock surface has been split into regular "tiles".
Sedimentary rock and fossils found in the park dates back 400 million years, an indication that the area was once a sea. About one million years ago giant lava flows known as a flood basalt spread across the land from surrounding volcanoes. The basalt of the Keilor Plains was created from one of the world's largest lava flows, in places 70 metres thick.
Jacksons Creek, which meets with Deep Creek to become the Maribyrnong River, has slowly worn a deep valley in the basaltic plain revealing the million year old volcanic geological formations such as the hexagonal basalt columns known as the "Organ Pipes".
Work continues to remove introduced plants and vermin, and reintroduce natural vegetation and wildlife to the park. As of 2002, large areas of trees and shrubbery are beginning to be reestablished, but the natural grasses are yet to reclaim the park. Many native animals, such as the Sugar Glider, are also beginning to reappear.
The park is located just off the Calder Freeway (Melways map 3, grid position D3).
External links
- Park page at Parks Victoria (http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=167)
- "Friends of Organ Pipes National Park" (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~foopnp/)
See also: Protected areas of Victoria (Australia)