Para Wirra Conservation Park
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Para Wirra Conservation Park South Australia |
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IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
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Recreation park's lake and island
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 Para Wirra Conservation Park
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| Nearest town or city | Gawler |
| Coordinates | 34°41′27.6″S 138°49′33.59″E / 34.691000°S 138.8259972°ECoordinates: 34°41′27.6″S 138°49′33.59″E / 34.691000°S 138.8259972°E |
| Established | 1 January 1962 |
| Area | 1,512 hectares (3,740 acres) |
| Managing authorities | Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources |
| Website | Para Wirra Conservation Park |
| See also | Protected areas of South Australia |
Para Wirra Conservation Park (formerly Para Wirra Recreation Park) is a 1,417-hectare (3,500-acre) protected area located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges in the northern end of the Adelaide metropolitan area in South Australia. The conservation park is part of a larger, 2,573-hectare (6,360-acre) block of contiguous native vegetation, the remainder of which is owned by PIRSA Forestry,SA Water and private landholders.
Para Wirra Conservation Park is located in the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Adelaide CBD, and 19 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Gawler. The other close townships to the park are One Tree Hill to the south and Williamstown to the east.
The conservation park takes its name from what are believed to local Aboriginal words, Para meaning "river" and Wirra meaning "forest".
The climate is Mediterranean maritime, influenced by south westerly winds with approximately 79% of the total rainfall occurring in the months from April to October, inclusive.
The park ranges in altitude from 137 metres (449 ft) above sea level immediately below Devil’s Nose to just over 328 metres (1,076 ft) asl in the south eastern corner of the park. 76% of the park lies above the 24 metres (79 ft) contour. The landform of the park has been described as "a hilly upland with broad crests and dissected slopes" (Lauet al et, 1977). The northern section is a dissected plateau due to the South Para River, which has formed steep sloped valleys and narrow ridge tops; the central reserve area is an undissected plateau; and the southern area is dominated by Mack Creek.
Para Wirra Conservation Park lies entirely within an inlier of crystalline basement rock which extends southwards to Torrens Gorge. It is part of a more extensively exposed Precambrian rock mass, the oldest in the Mount Lofty Ranges. In the extreme west of the park there are undifferentiated metamorphic, mostly very micaceous rocks (schists), and gneisses. A zone of distinctive layered or banded quartz-feldspar rich rocks (gneisses) extends though the central portion of the park. In the extreme east there is another conspicuous rock type (augen gneiss) which is distinguished by the presence of "eye" structures (usually of feldspar) up to 2.5 cm in length, indicative of greater shearing.
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Wikipedia