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29-657: The South Para River is a river located in the Mount Lofty Ranges northeast of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia . The river's name is based directly on the Kaurna word pari which means river. The "south" descriptor distinguishes it from the North Para River with which it merges. The South Para River rises in the Mount Lofty Ranges near Mount Crawford and Kersbrook and flows northwest through

58-511: A cycling trail). The Victor Harbor railway line (now used only for recreational purposes) largely skirts the eastern edge of the ranges. North of Adelaide, there was a railway to Angaston in the east of the Barossa Valley, and former railways to Truro and across the ranges near Eudunda to Morgan on the Murray River . The ranges form part of the water supply for Adelaide, and there

87-419: A hut and cattle run at the base of the mount. Crawford soon moved on to be a pioneer of Wellington, New Zealand. In February 1840 Crawford's hutkeeper, an old soldier, was bailed up by bushrangers Curran, Hughes, and Fox, who robbed him of his arms and rations. Curran and Hughes were executed by hanging at Adelaide on 16 March 1840 for an armed robbery committed earlier near Gawler. Pioneer families during

116-502: A nineteenth-century gold rush like those interstate, but gold was mined near both Echunga and Williamstown (in the Barossa). Other mines in the southern ranges include a nineteenth-century silver-lead mine at Talisker near Cape Jervis, which features many remaining old buildings, and the limestone mine at Rapid Bay , which ceased operations much more recently. Copper was mined at Kapunda , Truro and Kanmantoo and may be again [1] and

145-517: A number of endemic orchids. Similar habitats can be found on the offshore Kangaroo Island which is included by the World Wildlife Fund in the Mount Lofty woodlands ecoregion . The mountains are home to a number of marsupials such as the koala , western gray kangaroo , southern brown bandicoot along with the egg laying echidna . Birds include the southern emu-wren which is endemic to

174-627: A river in South Australia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide . The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and defines the eastern border of the Adelaide Plains . The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from

203-464: A threat to habitats and wildlife. Protected areas tend to be small and fragmented. Mount Crawford (South Australia) The Indigenous name for Mount Crawford was Teetáka . The mount was given its present name in 1839 by Charles Sturt after James Coutts Crawford (1817–1889). Crawford had a Royal Navy background. He and his drovers arrived overland from NSW in April 1839 with 700 cattle, setting up

232-471: A zinc (and lead, silver and gold) mine is proposed near Strathalbyn [2] . Quarries dot the ranges, the most spectacular and massive of which are in the Adelaide foothills; they supplied much of the quartzite which is to be seen in the enduring "sandstone architecture" of early Adelaide. Today, only a single railway crosses the ranges: the major Adelaide to Melbourne railway line , which was first constructed in

261-547: Is also home to the only conservation park in the northern ranges, Spring Gully . The northern end of the ranges are home to two curiosities: a tiny township by the name of Yongala , familiar to South Australians for commonly being the coldest place in the state (being a hundred kilometres inland, and on a somewhat elevated plateau as with much of the Mid North). The other curiosity is a locality near Orroroo called "Magnetic Hill". The name stems from an optical illusion that creates

290-475: Is an extensive infrastructure of reservoirs, weirs, and pipelines, on the Torrens , Onkaparinga , Little Para and Gawler River catchments. Mount Bold , South Para , Kangaroo Creek , and Millbrook reservoirs are the largest. The northern ranges, often confused with the southern Flinders Ranges , and sometimes referred to as the "Mid-North ranges" or "central hill country", stretch from hills near Kapunda in

319-515: The Flinders Ranges near Hallett . The mountains have a Mediterranean climate with moderate rainfall brought by south-westerly winds, hot summers and cool winters. The southern ranges are wetter (with 900 millimetres (35 in) of rain per year) than the northern ranges (400 millimetres (16 in)). The part of the ranges south of and including the Barossa Valley are commonly known as

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348-574: The Mount Crawford Forest which is a grouping of several government forest lands in the area, the largest encompassing the area around Mount Crawford - others are to the west at Mount Gawler and south around Cudlee Creek and Kangaroo Creek Dam. The Barossa Valley is directly to the north. The forest headquarters and an information centre are located near Mount Crawford. Most of the timber grown are pine trees, though there are some native eucalypt plantations. The Heysen Trail passes through

377-543: The Skilly Hills . Mining, although totally absent today, was once a major industry in the northern ranges. The copper mine at Kapunda, just north of the Barossa, operated from 1842 to 1877 and was a major boost to the infant State's economy, but was soon overshadowed by the large workings at Burra , further north. The mine here operated from 1845 to 1877 with a few minor interruptions, and was superseded by even larger workings on

406-507: The Yorke Peninsula . As testament to the volume of copper at Burra, however, the mine re-opened as an open-cut in 1971, before closing again ten years later. The Clare Valley lies in a shallow fold of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges just southwest of Burra. It is yet another world-class wine-producing area, and is a very popular weekend tourist destination for people living in Adelaide . It

435-399: The 1870s and has had only minor realignments since (the most significant of which was the boring of a new tunnel at Sleeps Hill). Passenger services used to run from the city to Bridgewater in the heart of the hills and ranges, but now stop at Belair in the foothills. A railway approached the ranges at Willunga (although it was closed and removed in the 1960s and has since been replaced by

464-462: The Adelaide region, trending northeast to southwest defining these blocks: All the fault zones are still active today, along with the rest of the ranges, and minor earthquakes are relatively common. Larger quakes in the southern ranges are fairly rare: the last to hit a major centre was the 1954 Adelaide earthquake that occurred on 1 March. It measured 5.5 on the Richter scale . A significant aspect of

493-921: The Fleurieu Peninsula. There are a number of reptiles including the endangered Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink . Biodiversity losses have been severe in the ranges due to the clearance of temperate woodlands. The hillsides have largely been cleared of woodland for fruit growing and other agriculture and the urban growth of Adelaide particularly on the lower slopes, leading to loss of habitat and local extinction of wildlife species including all species of bettong and quoll marsupials and birds including regent honeyeater ( Xanthomyza phrygia ), swift parrot ( Lathamus discolor ), king quail ( Coturnix chinensis ), brown quail ( C. ypsilophora ), and azure kingfisher ( Alcedo azurea ). Clearance and agriculture are ongoing and livestock grazing continues to cause damage to habitats while introduced cats, foxes and rabbits are

522-714: The Mount Lofty Ranges, passing through the Warren Reservoir and the South Para Reservoir , before reaching its confluence with the North Para River in Gawler to form the Gawler River . The South Para River descends 411 metres (1,348 ft) over its 47.5-kilometre (29.5 mi) course . The South Para River catchment is one of the key watersheds in the northern Mount Lofty Ranges. It plays an important role in

551-527: The Onkaparinga Valley. Although no major mines operate in the southern ranges today, there are several large disused ones, and a myriad of small ones. An iron sulfide mine at Brukunga , northeast of Mount Barker, operated from 1955 to 1972, proving a valuable source for the production of superphosphate fertilisers vital for the postwar development of the State's outlying agricultural areas. The runoff from

580-551: The South Mount Lofty Ranges, and the highest part of this section is the summit of Mount Lofty (710 m or 2,330 ft). The part of the ranges nearest Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and, further north, the Barossa Range . The ranges encompass a wide variety of land usage, including significant residential development, particularly concentrated in the foothills, suburbs of Stirling and Bridgewater , and

609-406: The first decades of closer settlement included surnames Coleman, Hammat, Rankine, Polden, Murray, Warren , and Whyte. The subsequent history was one of mining and pastoralism, until being largely replaced by forestry and recreation activities. An alluvial goldrush occurred in the area in the late nineteenth century, and fossicking still goes on in the area today. Mount Crawford also refers to

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638-563: The functioning of South Australia, providing much of the water used by Adelaide 's domestic supply in the Northern Adelaide area. The rainfall in the South Para River catchment varies from 775 millimetres (30.5 in) per annum in the north-east of the catchment to 675 millimetres (26.6 in) per annum near Williamstown. Its waters are also used for livestock production , cereal cropping and recreation. This article about

667-452: The geology of the Adelaide area is a number of Tertiary marine sands deposits, many of which have been extensively quarried. One of these deposits is around the outer-northern suburb of Golden Grove ; another area is around McLaren Vale . The natural habitat of the mountainsides is woodland of eucalyptus trees mixed with golden wattle acacia trees on the lower slopes, all with an undergrowth of shrubs and herbs. The flowers include

696-527: The impression that a car rolls uphill. The ranges are part of the Adelaide Rift Complex . The southern ranges and slopes of Mount Lofty overlooking the Adelaide Plains have been block-faulted to form a half- graben structure. The ranges when viewed from the beach or city have a "stepped" appearance, reflected in an early name for the ranges, "The Tiers". There are several major normal faults in

725-471: The largest. The other significant parks in the southern ranges are Deep Creek National Park , on the rugged southern shores of the Fleurieu Peninsula, and Para Wirra Conservation Park at the southern edge of the Barossa Valley. There are many wineries in the ranges. Two wine regions in particular are world-renowned: the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale . Grapes are also grown in the Adelaide Hills and

754-448: The mine unfortunately proved quite toxic for the local environment, and efforts have been underway since to alleviate the damage. A small short-lived silver and lead mine in the foothills of the ranges at Glen Osmond was first opened just two years after the founding of the State in 1836: it is significant for being not only the first metal mine in the history of the State, but the first in all Australia. South Australia never experienced

783-463: The south to arid ranges beyond Peterborough in the northeast. The highest peak in this section (and in all the Mount Lofty Ranges – despite the name) is Mount Bryan (936 m or 3,071 ft). Other significant peaks include New Campbell Hill (714 m or 2,343 ft) and Stein Hill (605 m or 1,985 ft), which overlooks Burra . The northern ranges include Belvidere Range , Tothill Range and

812-473: The southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over 300 kilometres (190 mi) before petering out north of Peterborough . In the vicinity of Adelaide, they separate the Adelaide Plains from the extensive plains that surround the Murray River and stretch eastwards to Victoria. The Heysen Trail traverses almost the entire length of the ranges, crossing westwards to

841-449: The towns Mount Barker and Victor Harbor in particular. Several pine plantation forests exist, most significantly around Mount Crawford and Cudlee Creek in the north and Kuitpo Forest and Second Valley in the south. Several protected areas exist near Adelaide where the hills face the city in order to preserve highly sought-after residential land: Black Hill Conservation Park , Cleland National Park and Belair National Park are

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