Kakadu National Park example essay topic

376 words
KNP Kakadu was declared a national park on 5 April 1979, and also granted world heritage status in 1979. Kakadu National Park is a magnificent part of Australia, and contains many beautiful features. The name 'kaka du' comes from the land's traditional aboriginal owners, the Gagadju people. They have interacted with Kakadu for over 50 000 years, one of the longest periods of interaction found anywhere on earth. The Aboriginal rock art is of particular significance as it provides us an insight of the Gagadju people's lives for over 50 000 years. The art also records the changes to the physical environment over the time.

The Gagadju have a close spiritual bond with KNP, meaning that they don't wish to dominate KNP; instead they live in harmony with it. Kakadu is often described as having 2 seasons. The 'wet' and the 'dry'. This is caused by a monsoon, a seasonal reversal in wind direction. Down across the length of Kakadu runs a sandstone escarpment of almost vertical cliffs.

The flora and Fauna on this plateau contains many endemic species. During the wet season, the river systems can't cope with the amount of water flowing into them. As the water spreads out from the rivers, vast large areas of flood plains are formed. These flood plains provide a habitat for local and migrating birds, who make Kakadu their temporary home.

During the dry season the water evaporates until only the billabong's and rivers remain. These make homes for freshwater crocodiles, fish and turtles. Within Kakadu National Park, Jabiru is the only major urban centre. In many ways the town is a unique Australian community. It was originally built to house uranium miners and their families, however, the town is now the centre of Kakadu's rapidly growing industry and the home of scientific and environmental specialists whose task is to study, protect and manage the park. In conclusion, for those reasons, kaka du was chosen for world heritage listing.

Kakadu is an important part of Australia, and also to the world, as it has a large biodiversity of animals as well as a large amount of minerals..