The Balili Conservation Park or Devonian Reef Conservation Park is an Australian protected area and is located in the

Kimberley region of Western Australia The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on ...

, about 50km North-West of

Fitzroy Crossing Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People Given name * Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: ** FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort (Henry Charles ...

. It includes Geikie Gorge National Park,

Tunnel Creek National Park Tunnel Creek National Park is a national park in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia, northeast of Perth and east of Broome, Western Australia, Broome. The natural cave through which Tunnel Creek flows is a ...

and Windjana Gorge National Park.

History

The area was covered by a shallow sea with a limestone reef being formed over a period of 20 million years during the

Devonian Period The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at million years ago ( Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding C ...

, around 380 to 360 million years ago. The reef then became

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

with valleys subsequently forming leading to the landforms that are exposed today. In 2017 a joint management plan for Bulali was agreed to between the Bunuba Dawangarri

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

and the

Western Australian government The Government of Western Australia is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Government. The Government of Western Australi ...

Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park

The Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park is situated 20 kilometres from

and 280 Kilometres from

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. The Fitzroy River has carved a 30 metre deep gorge between the Oscar and Geike Ranges. Evidence of fossils and strata of ancient limestone reef are exposed revealing evidence of life in the Devonian Period.

Tunnel Creek National Park

is situated 115 kilometres from Fitzroy Crossing, 180 kilometres from Derby and 30 kilometres south-west of Winjana Gorge. Found in the

Napier Range The Napier Ranges are located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The range is south of and runs parallel to the Wunaamin-Miliwundi Ranges (formerly King Leopold Ranges). The majority of the Kimberley is composed of sandstone but th ...

s, this national park contains Western Australia's oldest cave system, used by Jandamarra, an Aboriginal leader. Tunnel Creek flows through the limestone range for a distance of 750 metres. The Caves house colonies of bats and impressive stalactites. At least five species of bat have made these caves their home.

Windjana Gorge National Park

Also found in the

s, Windjana Gorge spans 3.5 kilometres and reaches a height of 100 metres in places. The

Lennard River Lennard River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river was named on 8 June 1879 by the explorer Alexander Forrest, during an expedition in the Kimberley area, after Amy Eliza Barrett-Lennard (1852-1897), who he was to m ...

flows through the gorge.

References

{{coord, 17, 47, S, 125, 15, E, type:landmark_region:AU-WA_dim:200000, display=title Protected areas of Western Australia Kimberley (Western Australia)