Nambung National Park
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Nambung National Park Western Australia |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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The Pinnacles - natural limestone formations
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 Nambung National Park
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| Nearest town or city | Cervantes |
| Coordinates | 30°34′34″S 115°10′12″E / 30.57611°S 115.17000°ECoordinates: 30°34′34″S 115°10′12″E / 30.57611°S 115.17000°E |
| Established | 1 July 1994 |
| Area | 192.68 km2 (74.4 sq mi) |
| Managing authorities | Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) |
| Website | Nambung National Park |
| See also | List of protected areas of Western Australia |
Nambung National Park is a national park in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 200 km northwest of Perth, Australia and 17 km south of the small coastal town of Cervantes. The park contains the Pinnacles Desert which is an area with thousands of limestone formations called pinnacles.
The park derives its name from an indigenous Australian word possibly meaning crooked or winding. The word was first used in 1938 when naming the Nambung River which flows into the park and disappears into a cave system within the limestone. The Yued people are the acknowledged traditional custodians of the land since before the arrival of Europeans.
Nambung National Park also contains beaches at Kangaroo Point and Hangover Bay, as well as coastal dunes and flowering plants in low heathland areas. A boardwalk in the northern area of the park at Lake Thetis allows visitors to view thrombolites which, like stromatolites, are structures built by micro-organisms, especially cyanobacteria. Some of the fossilized thrombolites have been dated to 3.6 billion years old. The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre features exhibits about the geology of the pinnacles formations and the cultural and natural heritage values of the area.
Europeans first visited the area in 1658 when Dutch maps recorded North and South Hummocks on their maps. Phillip Parker King also mentioned the Hummocks in his journals in 1820. The Pinnacles Desert area remained relatively unknown until surveyed in 1934. The national park was created in July 1994 by combining three separate reserve areas gazetted in 1956, 1967 (the Pinnacles) and 1968.
The park is bordered to the north by the Southern Beekeeper's Nature Reserve and to the south by Wanagarren Nature Reserve. A large area of vacant Crown land is found along much of the eastern boundary while the Indian Ocean defines the park's western boundary. Visitors can access the Pinnacles Desert from points north or south of Cervantes via the Indian Ocean Drive or via Cervantes Road from the east. The park is located 17 km south of Cervantes.
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Wikipedia