Crows Nest National Park, Nature reserve in Toowoomba Regional, Australia.
Crows Nest National Park is a protected area of domed granite outcrops and open eucalypt forest on the edge of the Darling Downs, 6 km east of Crows Nest and 56 km north of Toowoomba. Crows Nest Creek runs through a rocky bed and drops more than 20 metres over Crows Nest Falls into a basin enclosed by steep granite cliffs. Hoop pine, weeping bottlebrush, river she-oak and swamp mahogany grow along the creek banks.
Crows Nest National Park was first declared in 1967, when 236 hectares were protected on the edge of the Darling Downs. The park was later extended south along the Great Dividing Range and now covers 17.9 km2. A German-language source gives 1992 as the protection date, which conflicts with the 1967 declaration.
The Valley of Diamonds takes its name from feldspar in the granite, which glistens in sunlight. Birdwatchers come for pale-headed rosellas, golden whistlers, thornbills, honeyeaters and the white-browed woodswallow, while the brush-tailed rock-wallaby, one of 10 rare or threatened species recorded here, lives among the cliffs.
The day-use area provides parking, picnic tables, gas barbecues, and water stations for visitors. Multiple walking tracks of varying difficulty let everyone explore at their own pace.
The Valley of Diamonds, viewable from Koonin Lookout, is a deep gorge where water cascades over granite cliffs into natural rock pools. This formation demonstrates the water's powerful sculpting of the highland landscape.
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