Border Ranges National Park, AustraliaJohn StrohlPBIO 2470, Paperlet #2

Figure 2 Border Ranges National Park near Brisbane (2)

The Border Ranges National Park of Australia, is part of the

Gondwana Rainforest Preserve of Australia, which consists of

more than 50 smaller parks and preserves, predominantly

clustered in the Queensland-New South Wales border area.

Gondwana Rainforest Preserve is the most extensive sub-tropical

rainforest in the world today, at 3665 square

kilometers, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Gondwana Rainforests are so-named

because the fossil record indicates that when Gondwana existed it was covered by rainforests containing

the same kinds of species that are living there today (3) The Border Ranges National Park is located about

150 km south south west of Brisbane, in an area straddling the border between Queensland and New

South Wales, and relatively near the coast. It was established in 1979 and covers a total of 78,400 acres.

(4) The Border Ranges region, which includes the McPherson

Range, Tweed Range, Lamington Plateau and Levers Plateau,

were formed from the erosion of the Tweed Volcano over

many years. A number of volcanic plugs remain in the Border

Ranges National Park. (5) Border Ranges is recognized as a

biodiversity hotspot, containing a mixture of northern and

southern flora species (the McPherson-MacLeay overlap)

with a number of endemic, rare and endangered species.

Fauna is similarly diverse and species like the Hastings River

Mouse, have been rediscovered in the park in recent years. This park is also within the natural range of

the duck billed platypus, which is found within the park. Lower areas of the park contain eucalypt forests

that provide habitat for grey kangaroos, red-necked wallabies and koalas. Pademelons and potoroo are

also found in the park as well as a diverse array of birdlife including the rare Albert's Lyrebird. As a

Figure 1 Earth During The Late Jurassic Period (1)

Figure 1 Brindle Creek in Border Ranges (4)

national park it is in the province of the Australian Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and

the Arts as well as having United Nations attention as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (6)

Figure 2 looking over the Tweed valley (4)

Bibliography 1) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/238402/Gondwana 2) https://maps.google.com/ 3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana_Rainforests_of_Australia 4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Ranges_National_Park 5) Hema Maps (1997). Discover Australia's National Parks. Milsons Point, New South Wales:

Random House Australia. pp. 106—107. ISBN 1-875992-47-2.6) Big Volcano Visitor Guide, reprint of article by David Charley in Over The Fence, the Newsletter

of the Northern Rivers Region, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Newsletter No.6, April 2000.