Cape Arid National Park
Cape Arid National Park consists of 279,832 hectares (691,480 acres). The park lies at the eastern extremity of the South-Western botanical province and overlaps the boundary of the Eremaean botanical province (the arid zone). It is 120 km (75 mi) east of Esperance, in the Australian State of Western Australia. The park has magnificent coastal scenery, Pre-Cambrian granite outcrops, swampy clay flats, several ruins, and small mounts. There are young sand dune systems which support coastal heaths.
French Admiral D’Entrecasteaux named the cape “Cap Arride” in 1792, and the name was anglicised by Matthew Flinders in 1892. The park was subsequently named after this feature.
We would like to thank Chris and Tilde Stuart, visiting South African naturalists; Allan Rose, Ranger in Charge, and Mike Fitzgerald, Nature Conservation Coordinator, Cape Arid National Park, for providing information for this page.
(This page was updated in November 2012.)
