Geology of the Kennedy Range area

This handy book gives a brief description of the geology and guides the curious geotourist to highlights of the Kennedy Range National Park, located about 830 km north of Perth and about 150 km east of Carnarvon. The National Park covers an area of approximately 1400 km², with a small portion along the eastern margin readily accessible to visitors in 2WD vehicles. There, the escarpment rises to 100 m above the surrounding plain and is dissected by spectacular gorges with walking trails to rocky pools, seasonal waterfalls, and intricate textures at Honeycomb Gorge.

The Kennedy Range rocky outcrops show evidence of many phases of climatic change — from the 300-million-year-old glaciation to recent warmer and wetter climates when much of the ironstone and the famed mookaite (an ornamental stone found west of the Range) formed. The range began to develop in response to uplift and erosion more than 130 million years ago. Wind and water have sculpted and continue to modify the rocks into remarkable shapes, and the rocky walking trails are strewn with boulders that have tumbled down the sandstone cliffs. It is a rugged and remote place.