Geikie Gorge National Park, Nature reserve in Kimberley region, Western Australia.
Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park protects a gorge in the Napier Range where the Fitzroy River has cut through a Devonian limestone reef. The gorge walls are 30 m high and run for 8 km; the limestone range rises up to 100 m above the surrounding plains. The reef was built by algae and lime-secreting organisms, not corals, and Devonian fossils occur in the rock.
The area was named in 1883 after Sir Archibald Geikie, a geologist from the London Geological Society, who never actually visited the site. The naming reflected his scientific contributions rather than firsthand knowledge of the location.
The Bunaba people have ancestral ties to this land, called Darngku in their language, and share their knowledge with visitors during guided cultural tours that explain the stories woven into the landscape.
The park is closed as of January 2024 after the Fitzroy River flooded in 2023 and damaged facilities; a recovery plan aims to reopen it. Access from Fitzroy Crossing is by sealed road, 20 km away. Entry is daytime only, with no camping; picnic shelters, barbecues, toilets and water are provided. A 3 km rough walk trail runs along the western base of the gorge walls, and the eastern side is closed as a nature preserve.
The cliff walls display white bands that mark flood levels, which can surge over 16 meters during the wet season and completely transform the gorge. These visible markers reveal the story of extreme seasonal water shifts that reshape the landscape.
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