Bungle Bungle

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Purnululu National Park
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
The Bungle Bungles, a predominant feature of the area
Location	East Kimberley region, Northern Australia
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii, viii
Reference	1094
UNESCO region	Asia-Pacific
Coordinates	17°27′47″S 128°33′51″E / 17.46306°S 128.56417°E / -17.46306; 128.56417Coordinates: 17°27′47″S 128°33′51″E / 17.46306°S 128.56417°E / -17.46306; 128.56417
Inscription history
Inscription	2003 (27th Session)
Location of the Purnululu National Park on the Australian continent

Purnululu National Park Western Australia
IUCN category II (national park)
Echidna Chasm
Nearest town or city	Halls Creek
Established	1987
Area	2,397.23 km2 (925.6 sq mi)
Region	AU-WA
Managing authorities	WA Department of Parks and Wildlife
Website	Purnululu National Park
See also	List of protected areas of Western Australia

The Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Site in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. The 239,723-hectare (592,370-acre) national park is located approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) south of Kununurra, with Halls Creek located to the south. 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. Unique depositional processes and weathering have given these towers their spectacular black and orange banded appearance, formed by biological processes of cyanobacteria (single cell photosynthetic organisms) which serve to stabilise and protect the ancient sandstone formations. These outstanding examples of cone karst that have eroded over a period of 20 million years are of great beauty and exceptional geological interest.

The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated in 2003, and the adopted boundary of the existing national park. Since its listing, the Government of Western Australia has reserved additional areas located adjacent to the World Heritage Area, including the Purnululu Conservation Park and the Ord River Regeneration Reserve. The site was gazetted on the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 under the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1), 2003 (Cth).

Purnululu is a mispronounced Djaru word for the area around Bungle Bungle out camp, which is referred to as Bullmanlulu. The correct Karjaganujaru name for the Bungle Bungle massif is Billingjal which means sand falling away.

The traditional owners of the area are the Karjaganujaru peoples.