Pinnacles Desert, Nambung National Park, WA

Pinnacles Desert, Nambung National Park, WA

  

Nambung National Park

Nambung National Park is a national park in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 200 km northwest of Perth and 17 km south of the small coastal fishing  town of Cervantes. The park contains the Pinnacles Desert which is an area with thousands of limestone formations called pinnacles. Nambung National Park also contains Lake Thetis with a boardwalk allows visitors to view stromatolites which are structures built by micro-organisms, especially cyanobacteria. Beaches at Kangaroo Point and Hangover Bay, as well as coastal dunes and flowering plants in low heathland areas are some points of interest in the park.

Pinnacles Desert

Pinnacles Desert is the most interesting and attractive landscape in Nambung National Park. It's a true desert landscape, where the weathered rock spires of the Pinnacles rise out of yellow sand dunes. They are scattered across the desert in their thousands. Some are as high as 3.5m, and some finish in a jagged point, while others have rounded domes, resembling tombstones. Made up of shells, the Pinnacles date back millions of years to an epoch when the sand was beneath the sea.

The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre features exhibits about the geology of the pinnacles formations and the cultural and natural heritage values of the area.

A scenic walk and drive trail (Pinnacles Desert Loop Walk, View Lookout and Loop Drive) winds past the Pinnacles. Parking bays are provided at various points along a one-way drive for those wishing to stop and explore the fascinating Pinnacles Desert on foot.