West Mount Barren is part of the

Fitzgerald River National Park Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in the Shire of Ravensthorpe, Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Shire of Jerramungup in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is recognised on National Heritage List (Australia), Austral ...

located between

Bremer Bay Bremer may refer to: People *Bremer (surname) *Bremer Ehrler (1914–2013), American politician * Bremer (born 1997), Brazilian footballer Places ;Australia *Bremer Bay, Western Australia *Bremer Marine Park * Bremer Island *Bremer River (disambig ...

and Hopetoun on the south coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The coordinates of the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

of West Mount Barren are . West Mount Barren, along with

East Mount Barren East Mount Barren is a quartzite peak of the Barren Range in Fitzgerald River National Park. It was sighted and named by explorer Matthew Flinders on 6 January 1802, together with two other peaks in the range, West Mount Barren and Middle Mount ...

and Mid-Mount Barren were all named by

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...

in 1802 after their barren appearance.

Description

West Mount Barren rises 372 metres above sea level and forms part of the Barren Range within the national park. Mount Bland (320 metres) is the closest mountain feature and is situated approximately 5 km northeast from West Mount Barren. The Barren range is not continuous and although there are three distinct Mount Barrens (West, Mid and East) they are distinct peaks that are connected by coastal plain. Mid Mount Barren is approximately 20 km northeast of West Mount Barren and

is approximately 50 km northeast of West Mount Barren. Other peaks in the area include Woolbernup Hill, Thumb Peak, Mt Drummond and Mt Maxwell. West Mount Barren is accessible by an unsealed road suitable for

2WD Two-wheel-drive (2WD) denotes vehicles with a drivetrain that allows two wheels to be driven, and receive power and torque from the engine, simultaneously. Four-wheeled vehicles For four-wheeled vehicles (and by extension, vehicles with six, eigh ...

vehicles that runs off Pabelup Drive. A carpark with a plaque at the base of the mountain marks the beginning of a track that is an easy two hour return walk to the summit. Visitors are encouraged to stay on the footpath so as to minimise the spread of dieback which is a threat to the native plants of the area. A commanding view of the national park and the coastline is seen from the summit.

Geology

The Ravensthorpe region is underlain by basement rocks of the Albany-Fraser

Orogen An orogenic belt, orogen, or mobile belt, is a zone of Earth's crust affected by orogeny. An orogenic belt develops when a continental plate crumples and is uplifted to form one or more mountain ranges; this involves a series of geological proc ...

and Yilgarn craton. These rocks consist of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

and minor enclaves of

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...

and

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

rocks. The Barren Ranges consist of metasediments, mostly folded and faulted

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliation (geology), foliated metamorphic rock formed from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. I ...

, dolomite and conglomerate. The Barrens are composed of rock beds that have been tilted and folded. These rock beds were once layers of sand deposited on the sea floor. They were subsequently compressed, heated and

uplifted ''Uplifted'' is the second studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour N'abania. It was released on July 20, 2010, by Obaino Music and 2nite Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Jah Dey, Oloye, Stormrex, Waga Gee, Asem, Stone, M-Ja ...

by movements of the Earth's crust.

Botany

The

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

surrounding West Mount Barren is best described as scrub-heath with many types of shrubs that thrive in the

quartzitic Quartzite is a hard, non-Foliation (geology), foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usuall ...

lateritic Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

, often in rocky situations. The shrubs are mostly

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...

and

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

. Several species are unique to the area and can be found on and around West Mount Barren. Species include royal hakea (''

Hakea victoria ''Hakea victoria'', commonly known as royal hakea and lantern hakea, is a shrub endemic to Western Australia and noted for its ornamental foliage. The Noongar name for the plant is Tallyongut. Description ''Hakea victoria'' has an erect slende ...

''), Qualup bell (''

Pimelea physodes ''Pimelea physodes'', commonly known as Qualup bell, is a species of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves and distinctive bell-like inflorescences with tiny greenish flowers surrounded by long ...

''), oval-leaf adenanthos (''

Adenanthos ellipticus ''Adenanthos ellipticus'', commonly known as the oval-leaf adenanthos, is a flowering plant from the family Proteaceae that is endemic to Western Australia where it is considered to be Declared Rare Flora. Description ''Adenanthos ellipticus'' ...

''), blue dampiera (''

Dampiera linearis ''Dampiera linearis'', commonly known as common dampiera or wedge-leaved dampiera, is an erect perennial herb in the family Goodeniaceae. The species, which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia, grows to between 15 and 60 cm (6 ...

''), silver-leafed Barrens regelia ('' Regelia velutina''), Barrens clawflower ('' Calothamnus validus''), and the broad-leaved brown pea ('' Bossiaea ornata'').

Fires

The area around West Mount Barren is often burnt out by

bush fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), desert ...

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

strikes are the most usual cause of fires that often devastate large areas of the park. The last large scale fire was in December 2006 where four fires, that were started by lightning strikes, joined into one much larger blaze that burned out several thousand

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...

of bushland.

References

{{reflist Mountains of Western Australia Shire of Jerramungup