27-659: The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur regions, in New South Wales , in eastern Australia . The 68,660-hectare (169,700-acre) national park is situated approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) south-west of Sydney and is contiguous with the Blue Mountains National Park and
54-516: A land lease from the U.S. government , while Mackinac National Park was handed down to become the first of the Michigan state parks . As with national parks, facilities at state parks are often leased to concessionaires to operate. Breaks Interstate Park is operated under an interstate compact by Virginia state parks , although it is also one of the Kentucky state parks , straddling both sides of
81-572: A few exceptions such as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California, and Wood-Tikchik State Park in Alaska, the largest state park in the United States . In addition to preserving natural landscapes and providing recreational opportunities, many state parks also serve as important educational resources . They often offer guided tours, interpretive programs, and exhibits that help visitors learn about
108-683: A restaurant) for lodging at some parks. These typically use "Resort" in the name, such as "_____ Resort State Park" in West Virginia state parks and "_____ State Resort Park" in neighboring Kentucky state parks , which has 17 such resort parks, the most of any state. Other states use the Resort name inconsistently (like DeGray Lake Resort State Park , the only one out of three resorts in Arkansas state parks ), or have only one such park ( South Carolina state parks ' Hickory Knob State Resort Park ), or do not use
135-603: A state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state , some of the Mexican states , and in Brazil . The term is also used in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales . The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa, and Belgium,
162-413: Is provincial park . Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies. State parks are thus similar to national parks , but under state rather than federal administration. Similarly, local government entities below state level may maintain parks, e.g., regional parks or county parks . In general, state parks are smaller than national parks, with
189-470: Is composed of two land units — the elevated, gently undulating Boyd Plateau and the area of creeks, rivers, gorges and ridges into which the plateau falls away. The plateau is traversed by the Kanangra Walls Road and can be accessed either from Oberon or Jenolan Caves. The road leads to Kanangra Walls. There are several well known landmarks in the park, such as Mount Cloudmaker, Kanangra Walls and
216-742: Is poor. red spotted gum , Blakely's red gum , red stringybark and forest oak are also found. Kurrajong trees are found in abundance where limestone outcrops occur, and in sheltered gullies rainforest species (including red cedar ) and blue gum are found. On the Boyd Plateau, the misty mountain forests of brown barrel , messmate , ribbon gum , black sally , snow gum and mallee predominate. High altitude areas subject to strong winds generally support heath and closed scrub communities. In areas of impeded drainage, various swamps occur, dominated by sedges and scrubs such as Leptospermum and Baeckea species. About 1,000 flowering plant species occur in
243-544: The Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW) are found in the Wilderness Area including: The powerful owl ( Ninox strenua ), squirrel glider ( Petaurus norfolcensis ), yellow-bellied glider ( Petaurus volans ), tiger quoll ( Dasyurus maculatus ), and brush-tailed rock wallaby ( Petrogale penicillata ). A species of velvet worm ( Euperipatoides kanangrensis ) has been found on
270-686: The Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration . Jenolan River The Jenolan River is a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury - Nepean catchment, located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales , Australia . The Jenolan River rises below Black Mount on the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range southeast of Oberon , and flows generally southeast and east, joined by several minor tributaries before reaching its confluence with
297-633: The Nattai National Park . The park was established in 1969. The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is one of the eight protected areas that, in 2000, was inscribed to form part of the UNESCO World Heritage –listed Greater Blue Mountains Area . The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is the most south–westerly of the eight protected areas within the World Heritage Site. The national park forms part of the Great Dividing Range . Notable features of
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#1732844197234324-600: The Blue Mountains, in some 40 plant communities. There are over 45 rare or endangered plant species in the wilderness. A unique form of tall open forest occurs in the Kedumba Valley, dominated by Camden white gum , an endangered species limited to these populations. The Blue Mountains National Park contains 46 species of mammals, including 27 marsupials and two monotremes . Over 200 birds and 98 reptile species have been recorded. Several species listed on Schedules 1 and 2 of
351-480: The Boyd Plateau. There are several walking tracks and other sites in the park, these include the: Camping is available on the banks of Morong Creek, at the Boyd River campground, located on Kanangra Road. State park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by
378-628: The Coxs River area, is the large Kanimbla granite batholith, emplaced during the Carboniferous period. Colong Caves is another outstanding feature of the area. The main Upper Silurian limestone belt, in the Jenolan River valley to the north-west, is 300 metres (980 ft) thick, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long and located in a valley 460 metres (1,510 ft) deep. This karst topography, created by
405-506: The Jenolan and its tributaries, is one of the least understood in Australia. The complex geology, climate, fire regime, and topography has enabled a wide variety of ecosystems to develop. Eucalypt forest with western plain species, such as yellow box and white box , are found in areas of rainshadow. Forests of mountain ash are found on well drained soils and Blaxland's stringybark where soil
432-479: The Permo-Triassic Measures, are on the surface as high land. Rock types include quartzite, diorite, Devonian rhyolites, rhyo-dacites, Silurian phyllites, slates, siltstones and tuff limestones. The Boyd Plateau comprises a dome of Devonian granite intruded into Devonian quartzites and sedimentaries. There are also intrusive igneous rocks from the Carboniferous period. Kanangra Tops at the south-eastern end of
459-650: The Plateau is one of the Permian outliers. Its fringing fault scarp – Kanangra Walls – comprises Permian sedimentaries of the Capertee Group which rests unconformably on a Devonian Lambie Group Basement. Nearby Kanangra Gorge is cut 600–900 metres (2,000–3,000 ft) deep in rocks of the Lambie Group, and is one of Australia's deepest gorges. Cloudmaker and Guouogang are eroded remnants of Ordovician quartzite. Further east, in
486-724: The Thurat Spires. The word Kanangra is generally held to be a corruption of Gundangura and was called Thurat for some time. The national park is bounded to the north by open farmland; to the east by the Coxs River , the Blue Mountains National Park and the Kowmung River ; to the south–east by the Yerranderie State Conservation Area; to the south by the Nattai National Park and the Wombeyan Caves Road ; to
513-731: The country's state parks. The NASPD further counts over 43,000 miles (69,000 km) of trail, 217,367 campsites, and 8,277 cabins and lodges across U.S. state parks. The largest state park system in the United States is Alaska State Parks , with over 100 sites encompassing 3.3 million acres. Many states include designations beyond "state park" in their state parks systems. Other designations might be state recreation areas , state beaches, and state nature reserves . Some state park systems include long-distance trails and historic sites . To encourage tourism in rural areas, several states have simple lodges, inns, hotels, or motels (usually with
540-474: The designation at all (such as the lodges of Georgia state parks ). The term "lodge" may also refer to a hiking lodge , essentially a large cabin for hikers rather than a large facility with private rooms and a restaurant. Other lodging may include yurts and tipis . Not all parks owned by a state are necessarily part of its state-park system, such as Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta. Some Texas state parks are
567-484: The local flora , fauna , geology , and cultural history of the area. These programs are designed not only to enhance the visitor experience but also to promote conservation awareness and encourage responsible enjoyment of natural resources. There are 6,792 state park units in the United States, according to the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD). There are some 813 million annual visits to
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#1732844197234594-555: The national park include the Thurat Spires, Kanangra Walls, Mount Colong, and three waterfall systems – the Kalang, the 225-metre (738 ft) two–tiered drop Kanangara and the Morong falls. The park also features a series of karst landforms that can be explored by those with caving experience. The movie Jedda was filmed in the Kanangra Walls area in 1954. Kanangra-Boyd National Park
621-572: The south of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and the Kanangra-Boyd National Parks, this folded belt or "Rim Rock" area is markedly different from the Permo - Triassic sandstone dominated landforms which comprise the rest of the Blue Mountains. There are isolated residual cappings of Permian sandstone in a few places but here the Palaeozoic basement rocks, which are elsewhere buried well below
648-679: The south–west by the Blue Mountains National Park; and to the west by the Kowmung River, the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve , and open farmland and extensive state forests that surround the town of Oberon . The Abercrombie River National Park is situated a short distance, further south–west. The Kanangra-Boyd Wilderness is among the largest and most rugged wilderness areas in New South Wales. Situated to
675-469: The state line. Other multi-state parks are legally two separate parks with the same name and more informal cooperation between them. The title of oldest state park in the United States is claimed by Niagara Falls State Park in New York , established in 1885. Several public parks previously or currently maintained at the state level pre-date it. Indian Springs State Park has been operated continuously by
702-454: The state of Georgia as a public park since 1825, although it did not gain the title "State Park" until 1931. In 1864 Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded by the federal government to California until Yosemite National Park was proclaimed in 1890. In 1878 Wisconsin set aside a vast swath of its northern forests as "The State Park" but, needing money, sold most of it to lumber companies within 20 years. Mackinac National Park
729-468: Was established in 1875 as the second U.S. national park before being converted to a state park in 1895. The first state park with the designation of "state park" was Itasca State Park in Minnesota , established in 1891. Many state park systems date to the 1930s, when around 800 state parks (and several national ones) across the country were developed with assistance from federal job-creation programs like
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