Greater Blue Mountains Area
Encyclopedia
The Greater Blue Mountains Area is a World Heritage Site
in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales
, Australia
. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 24th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Cairns from 27 November to 2 December 2000
, sheer cliffs, deep, inaccessible valleys and river
s and lake
s teeming with life. The rare plants and animals that live in this natural place relate an extraordinary story of Australia's antiquity, its diversity of life. This is the story of the evolution of Australia's unique eucalypt
vegetation and its associated communities, plants and animals.
The Greater Blue Mountains Area consists of 10,300 square kilometres of mostly forested landscape on a sandstone
plateau 60 to 180 kilometres inland from central Sydney
. The area includes vast expanses of wilderness and is equivalent in area to almost one third of Belgium
, or twice the size of Brunei
.
The area called Blue Mountains is based on the fact that when atmospheric temperature
rise, the essential oil
of Eucalyptus saligna
evaporate
s and disperse
in the air, then visible
blue
spectrum
of sunlight
propagate
s more than other colours. Therefore the reflected
landscape
from mountains seems bluish
by human eye
s.
The property, which includes eight protected areas in two blocks separated by a transportation and urban development corridor, is made up of seven outstanding national parks as well as the famous Jenolan Caves
Karst Conservation Reserve. These are the Blue Mountains National Park
, Wollemi National Park
, Yengo National Park
, Nattai National Park
, Kanangra-Boyd National Park
, Gardens of Stone National Park
and Thirlmere Lakes National Park
.
The area does not contain mountains in the conventional sense but is described as a deeply incised sandstone plateau rising from less than 100 metres above sea level to 1300 metres at the highest point. There are basalt
outcrops on the higher ridges. This plateau is thought to have enabled the survival of a rich diversity of plant and animal life by providing a refuge from climatic changes during recent geological history. It is particularly noted for its wide and balanced representation of eucalypt habitats from wet and dry sclerophyll
, mallee heathlands, as well as localised swamps, wetlands, and grassland. Ninety-one species of eucalypts (thirteen percent of the global total) occur in the Greater Blue Mountains Area. Twelve of these are believed to occur only in the Sydney sandstone region.
As well as supporting such a significant proportion of the world's eucalypt species, the area provides examples of the range of structural adaptations of the eucalypts to Australian environments. These vary from tall forests at the margins of rainforest in the deep valleys, through open forests and woodlands, to shrublands of stunted mallees on the exposed tablelands.
In addition to its outstanding eucalypts, the Greater Blue Mountains Area also contains ancient, relict
species of global significance. The most famous of these is the recently-discovered Wollemi pine, a "living fossil" dating back to the age of the dinosaurs. Thought to have been extinct for millions of years, the few surviving trees of this ancient species are known only from three small populations located in remote, inaccessible gorges within the area. The Wollemi pine is one of the world's rarest species.
, the koala
, the Yellow-bellied Glider
and the Long-nosed Potoroo
as well as rare reptiles and amphibians including the Green and Golden Bell Frog
and the Blue Mountain Water Skink
.
The largest predator of the area is the dingo
. These wild dogs hunt for grey kangaroos
and other prey.
The greater Blue Mountains region has been identified by BirdLife International
as an Important Bird Area
(IBA) because it supports a high proportion of the global populations of the range-restricted Rockwarbler
as well as populations of Flame Robin
s, Diamond Firetail
s and Pilotbird
s. The endangered Regent Honeyeater
is seen there regularly. It is also a migration bottleneck for Yellow-faced Honeyeater
s.
The reason why this site was chosen to be included on the World Heritage list is quoted below:
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 24th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Cairns from 27 November to 2 December 2000
Description
This area is one of rugged tablelandsPlateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
, sheer cliffs, deep, inaccessible valleys and river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s and lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s teeming with life. The rare plants and animals that live in this natural place relate an extraordinary story of Australia's antiquity, its diversity of life. This is the story of the evolution of Australia's unique eucalypt
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
vegetation and its associated communities, plants and animals.
The Greater Blue Mountains Area consists of 10,300 square kilometres of mostly forested landscape on a sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
plateau 60 to 180 kilometres inland from central Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The area includes vast expanses of wilderness and is equivalent in area to almost one third of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, or twice the size of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
.
The area called Blue Mountains is based on the fact that when atmospheric temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
rise, the essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
of Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna, known as the Sydney Blue Gum, is a large Australian hardwood tree common along the New South Wales seaboard and into Queensland, reaching about 65 metres in height...
evaporate
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
s and disperse
Dispersion
Dispersion may refer to:In physics:*The dependence of wave velocity on frequency or wavelength:**Dispersion , for light waves**Dispersion **Acoustic dispersion, for sound waves...
in the air, then visible
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
spectrum
Visible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 750 nm. In terms of...
of sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...
propagate
Wave propagation
Wave propagation is any of the ways in which waves travel.With respect to the direction of the oscillation relative to the propagation direction, we can distinguish between longitudinal wave and transverse waves....
s more than other colours. Therefore the reflected
Reflection (physics)
Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two differentmedia so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves...
landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
from mountains seems bluish
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
by human eye
Human eye
The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...
s.
The property, which includes eight protected areas in two blocks separated by a transportation and urban development corridor, is made up of seven outstanding national parks as well as the famous Jenolan Caves
Jenolan Caves
The Jenolan Caves are caves in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia; 175 kilometres west of Sydney. They are the most celebrated of several similar groups in the limestone of the country being the oldest discovered open caves in the world...
Karst Conservation Reserve. These are the Blue Mountains National Park
Blue Mountains National Park
The Blue Mountains National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 81 km west of Sydney, and located in the Blue Mountains region of the Great Dividing Range. The park covers 268,987 hectares. The boundary of the park is quite irregular as it is broken up by roads, urban areas...
, Wollemi National Park
Wollemi National Park
Wollemi National Park is the second largest national park in New South Wales, and contains most of the largest wilderness area, the Wollemi Wilderness...
, Yengo National Park
Yengo National Park
Yengo is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 132 km northwest of Sydney.In 1993 the National Park and Wildlife Service opened their depot in Bucketty. From here they started to manage the newly established Yengo National Park...
, Nattai National Park
Nattai National Park
Nattai is a national park in New South Wales , 150 km southwest of Sydney. It is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and primarily encompasses the valley of the Nattai River, which is surrounded by spectacular sandstone cliffs. The park is covered in dry sclerophyll forest...
, Kanangra-Boyd National Park
Kanangra-Boyd National Park
Kanangra-Boyd is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 100 km west of Sydney. It lies to the southwest of and is contiguous with the Blue Mountains National Park, and is part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site ....
, Gardens of Stone National Park
Gardens of Stone National Park
Gardens of Stone is a national park in the Australian state of New South Wales, 125 km northwest of Sydney. At 15,010 ha, it is part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site.-See also:* Protected areas of New South Wales...
and Thirlmere Lakes National Park
Thirlmere Lakes National Park
Thirlmere Lakes is a national park in New South Wales , 70 km southwest of Sydney, and lying just to the west of Thirlmere, New South Wales. It is part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site...
.
The area does not contain mountains in the conventional sense but is described as a deeply incised sandstone plateau rising from less than 100 metres above sea level to 1300 metres at the highest point. There are basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
outcrops on the higher ridges. This plateau is thought to have enabled the survival of a rich diversity of plant and animal life by providing a refuge from climatic changes during recent geological history. It is particularly noted for its wide and balanced representation of eucalypt habitats from wet and dry sclerophyll
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
, mallee heathlands, as well as localised swamps, wetlands, and grassland. Ninety-one species of eucalypts (thirteen percent of the global total) occur in the Greater Blue Mountains Area. Twelve of these are believed to occur only in the Sydney sandstone region.
Vegetation
The area has been described as a natural laboratory for studying the evolution of the eucalypts. The largest area of high diversity of eucalypts on the continent is located in south-east Australia. The Greater Blue Mountains Area includes much of this eucalypt diversity.As well as supporting such a significant proportion of the world's eucalypt species, the area provides examples of the range of structural adaptations of the eucalypts to Australian environments. These vary from tall forests at the margins of rainforest in the deep valleys, through open forests and woodlands, to shrublands of stunted mallees on the exposed tablelands.
In addition to its outstanding eucalypts, the Greater Blue Mountains Area also contains ancient, relict
Relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....
species of global significance. The most famous of these is the recently-discovered Wollemi pine, a "living fossil" dating back to the age of the dinosaurs. Thought to have been extinct for millions of years, the few surviving trees of this ancient species are known only from three small populations located in remote, inaccessible gorges within the area. The Wollemi pine is one of the world's rarest species.
Fauna
More than 400 different kinds of animals live within the rugged gorges and tablelands of the Greater Blue Mountains Area. These include threatened or rare species of conservation significance, such as the Tiger QuollTiger Quoll
The tiger quoll , also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tailed dasyure or the tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus Dasyurus native to Australia...
, the koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
, the Yellow-bellied Glider
Yellow-bellied Glider
The Yellow-bellied Glider is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in a narrow range of native eucalypt forests down eastern Australia, reaching from northern Queensland to Victoria.-Habitat:...
and the Long-nosed Potoroo
Long-nosed Potoroo
The Long-nosed Potoroo is a species of Australian potoroo. It is listed as Endangered in Victoria , Vulnerable in Queensland and nationally , although the IUCN lists it as Lower Risk.At first glance the Long-nosed Potoroo with its...
as well as rare reptiles and amphibians including the Green and Golden Bell Frog
Green and Golden Bell Frog
The Green and Golden Bell Frog , also named the Green Bell Frog, Green and Golden Swamp Frog and Green Frog, is a ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abilities, it does not live in trees and spends almost all of its time close to ground level...
and the Blue Mountain Water Skink
Blue Mountain Water Skink
The Blue Mountain Water Skink is a species of skink in the Scincidae family.It is found only in Australia and is also an endangered species.-References:...
.
The largest predator of the area is the dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
. These wild dogs hunt for grey kangaroos
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is a marsupial found in southern and eastern Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Forester Kangaroo...
and other prey.
The greater Blue Mountains region has been identified by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) because it supports a high proportion of the global populations of the range-restricted Rockwarbler
Rockwarbler
The Rockwarbler or Origma , is a bird in the Acanthizidae family. The species is the only member of the genus Origma. It is the only bird species endemic to the state of New South Wales in Australia....
as well as populations of Flame Robin
Flame Robin
The Flame Robin is a small passerine bird native to Australia. It is a moderately common resident of the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Like the other two red-breasted Petroica robins—the Scarlet Robin and the Red-capped Robin—it is often simply but...
s, Diamond Firetail
Diamond Firetail
The Diamond Firetail Stagonopleura guttata is a species of estrildid finch found in eastern Australia, from Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, to south-eastern Queensland, commonly found on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The bird lives in eucalypt forest and woodland, mallee country,...
s and Pilotbird
Pilotbird
The Pilotbird is a species of bird in the Acanthizidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Pycnoptilus. The exact taxonomic placement of this species is disputed, as it bears some resemblance to the bristlebirds. The species is endemic to south east New South Wales and east Victoria in...
s. The endangered Regent Honeyeater
Regent Honeyeater
The Regent Honeyeater, Xanthomyza phrygia, is an endangered bird endemic to Australia. It feeds on nectar and insects within eucalyptus forests. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.-Distribution:...
is seen there regularly. It is also a migration bottleneck for Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
The Yellow-faced Honeyeater is a medium-small bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It takes both its common name and scientific name from the distinctive yellow stripes on the sides of its head. It has a loud clear call, and is one the first birds heard in the morning...
s.
UNESCO listing
The Greater Blue Mountains Area was unanimously listed as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO on 29 November 2000. It thus became the fourth area in New South Wales to be listed. The area totals roughly 10,000 square kilometres, including the Blue Mountains, Kanangra-Boyd, Wollemi, Gardens of Stone, Yengo, Nattai and Thirlmere Lakes National Parks, plus the Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve.The reason why this site was chosen to be included on the World Heritage list is quoted below:
External links
- Blue Mountains virtual video tour.
- Gundungurra Blue Mountains Aboriginal traditional owners.
- Nomination of the Greater Blue Mountains Area for inscription on the World Heritage List by the Government of Australia 1998
- Greater Blue Mountains Area at UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- The Greater Blue Mountains Area, New South Wales, Australia at United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
- Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute
- Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia Aerial video of the Jamison Valley below Katoomba.