Organ Pipes National Park
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Nearest town/city:	Melbourne
Coordinates:	37°40′07″S, 144°46′02″E
Area:	1.21 km²
Managing authorities:	Parks Victoria
Official site:	Organ Pipes National Park

Organ Pipes is a national park in Victoria (Australia), 23 km northwest of Melbourne. The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... A Natural Monument is a natural/cultural feature which is of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. ... Image File history File links Locator_Dot. ... Image File history File links Australia_Locator_Map. ... Melbournes Yarra River is popular area for walking, jogging, cycling and relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced ) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ... Emblems: Pink heath (floral)Weedy Seadragon (Aquatic) helmeted honeyeater (bird) Leadbeaters possum (faunal) Motto: Peace and Prosperity Slogan or Nickname: Garden State, The Place To Be, On The Move Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Const. ... The City of Melbournes coat of arms The central business district of Melbourne, viewed from the north Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation) Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 52,117 in the Central...

The park was established in 1972 on what was then degraded farmland around the gully formed by Jackson's Creek in an attempt to reestablish an area of the indigenous vegetation of the district, which has been almost completely lost through farming and urban development. The particular site was chosen because of the presence of several interesting geological features, including the "Organ Pipes" themselves - a pattern of vertical pipe-like rock strucks exposed by the erosion of the creek - and a "tesselated pavement", where the rock surface has been split into regular "tiles". 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

It is also a popular tourist destination as it houses the Organ Pipes, The Tesellated pavement, the Rosette rock and much much more.

The Organ Pipes

Sedimentary rock and fossils found in the park dates back 400 million years, an indication that the area was once a sea. About one million years ago giant lava flows known as a flood basalt spread across the land from surrounding volcanoes. The basalt of the Keilor Plains was created from one of the world's largest lava flows, in places 70 metres thick. Organ Pipes at Organ Pipes National Park (my picture) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Organ Pipes at Organ Pipes National Park (my picture) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... An ammonite fossil Eocene fossil fish of the genus Knightia Petrified wood fossil formed through permineralization. ... Look up lava, Aa, pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A flood basalt is a giant volcanic eruption that coats large stretches of land with basalt lava. ... Volcano 1. ... Basalt Basalt (IPA: ) is a common gray to black volcanic rock. ...

Jacksons Creek, which meets with Deep Creek to become the Maribyrnong River, has slowly worn a deep valley in the basaltic plain revealing the million year old volcanic geological formations such as the hexagonal basalt columns known as the "Organ Pipes". Maribyrnong river at West Essendon The Maribyrnong River rises about 50 km north of Melbourne Victoria (Australia), near Mount Macedon. ...

Work continues to remove introduced plants and vermin, and reintroduce natural vegetation and wildlife to the park. As of 2002, large areas of trees and shrubbery are beginning to be reestablished, but the natural grasses are yet to reclaim the park. Many native animals, such as the Sugar Glider, are also beginning to reappear. Binomial name Petaurus breviceps Waterhouse, 1839 Sugar Glider natural range: Red: Blue: Darkgreen: Yellow: Violet: Lightgreen: Black: The Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps), sometimes called the Flying Sugar, is a small gliding possum native to eastern and northern mainland Australia, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and introduced to Tasmania. ...

The park is located just off the Calder Freeway (Melway map 3, grid position D3). Calder Freeway M79 is freeway linking Melbourne to Bendigo. ... Melway (usually The Melways) is the most ubiquitous street directory for Melbourne, Australia, and its immediate surrounds. ...

See also

• Protected areas of Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia. ...

External links

• "Friends of Organ Pipes National Park"