The rugged and varied sandstone landscape is home to a distinctive mixture of wildlife, which has been thoroughly mapped and described by the
Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management. There are habitats similar to the Kimberley across the border in the
Northern Territory, including the valleys of the
Victoria and
Daly Rivers but these have been less carefully studied.
Flora near
Kununurra Much of the Kimberley is chiefly covered in open
savanna woodland dominated by low
bloodwood and
boab trees (
Adansonia gregorii) with
Darwin stringybark and
Darwin woollybutt eucalyptus in the wetter areas. The red sandy soil of the
Dampier Peninsula in the south is known for its characteristic
pindan wooded grassland, while in the more fertile areas like the
Ord Valley, the trees are found in grasslands of
Chrysopogon,
Aristida,
Dichanthium and
Xerochloa (rice grass) in the wetter valleys. The banks of the
Ord,
Fitzroy River and other rivers are home to a greater variety of vegetation, while in sheltered gorges of the high rainfall north, there are patches of
tropical dry broadleaf forest, called
monsoon forests, deciduous vine forest or vine thicket in Australia, (often mistakenly which is called "dry rainforest"), which were unknown to science until 1965, and are one of the most floristically rich parts of Australia outside the Wet Tropics and southwestern WA. There are also areas of
mangrove in river estuaries where the coast is flatter.
Flora regions In 1979, Beard identified four phytogeographic districts within the Northern Botanical Province: • Gardner District (Ga) in the north (and further divided into the West Gardner (WGa), Central Gardner (CGa) and East Gardner (EGa)) • Fitzgerald District (Fi) in the centre • Dampier (Da) and Hall (Ha) Districts in the south
Fauna nest Animals found here include the huge
saltwater crocodile, its smaller cousin the
freshwater crocodile and a rich variety of
birds such as the
channel-billed cuckoo,
Pacific koel,
purple-crowned fairywren and the
bowerbird. The sandstone gorges of north Kimberley are an important refuge for a particularly rich collection of endemic species including some that have disappeared from the flatter areas, including the purple-crowned fairywren, the endangered
Gouldian finch and a large number of
amphibians:
flat-headed frog,
cave-dwelling frog,
magnificent tree frog,
Derby toadlet,
small toadlet,
fat toadlet, the unconfirmed
marbled toadlet,
Mjoberg's toadlet,
mole toadlet and
stonemason's toadlet. Mammals that have declined especially in the flatlands include the
bilby,
northern quoll,
pale field rat,
golden-backed tree rat, and
golden bandicoot.
Megabats such as the
black flying foxes and
little red flying foxes are common and perform important
pollination and
seed dispersal work for many species of native trees and shrubs. A species of endemic
gecko,
Gehyra kimberleyi, is named after the Kimberley region. The gorges of central Kimberley are known for their
fossils and for their large colonies of bats, including
Windjana,
Tunnel Creek, and
Geikie Gorges.
Lake Argyle and other wetlands of the Ord and the Kimberley are important habitats while there are important populations of
shorebirds in the Ord estuary,
Eighty-mile Beach and
Roebuck Bay, which has been described as "one of the most important stop-over areas for shorebirds in Australia and globally". Finally, there are several rocky islands off the north coast that are home to
seabirds and
turtles.
Threats and preservation Little of the Kimberley has been subject to wholesale clearance other than particularly fertile parts of the Ord Valley (and areas of Kimberley-type habitat across the Daly River basin in the Northern Territory) but the pastureland in the southern areas has been affected by 100 years of livestock grazing and other threats including introduced weeds (such as
cocklebur,
parkinsonia,
bellyache bush and
castor oil plant), feral cats and changes to traditional Aboriginal
fire regimes (the way grassland is burnt and allowed to renew). However, the remote sandstone areas to the north have valuable original habitats in good condition providing shelter for much wildlife. - sandstone domes of the
Bungle Bungle Range The largest protected areas are the
Prince Regent National Park and the
Drysdale River National Park along with
Gregory National Park and
Keep River National Park across the Northern Territory, which preserves similar habitats. (Keep River's nearest town is
Kununurra in the Kimberley.) The Kimberley is a popular tourist destination, with areas such as the
Bungle Bungle Range, the
Gibb River Road,
Lake Argyle,
El Questro Station,
Mornington Sanctuary,
Horizontal Falls and
Cape Leveque. The Gibb River Road and the road into the Bungle Bungles can at times be accessed in a
two-wheel drive car, although one can access many additional areas in a
four-wheel drive vehicle. Other parks in the region include
Geikie Gorge National Park,
Mirima National Park,
Mitchell River National Park,
Point Coulomb National Park,
Purnululu National Park,
Tunnel Creek National Park,
Windjana Gorge National Park and
Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park. In 2012 the Western Australian government announced the creation of the 7,062 square kilometre Camden Sound Marine Park with a further three to come. Visitors to the area should be aware that the area can be subject to controlled burns at any time of year. In September 2011, a fire burned five people, two severely, who had been competing in the Kimberley Ultramarathon, an endurance
cross-country footrace.
Save the Kimberley campaign country near
James Price Point The local Kimberley community led a campaign to stop a proposal to industrialise the Kimberley coast at
James Price Point 50km north of Broome.
Woodside Energy, with Joint Venture partners
BHP, Chevron, Shell and BP along with the Barnett Liberal-National Coalition
Government of Australia, sought to build the largest gas refineries in the world on the Kimberley coast. The local community rejected the proposal given the enormous damage it would've caused. Organisations and groups that were involved in the campaign included the Goolarabooloo people, the Broome Community No Gas Campaign, Environs Kimberley, Save the Kimberley, The Wilderness Society, Sea Shepherd and Australian Conservation Foundation. The campaign received support from public figures such as
John Butler, Clare Bowditch,
Missy Higgins, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly and former leader of the
Australian Greens,
Bob Brown. On 5 October 2012, a concert was held at
Federation Square in
Melbourne, Australia, to raise awareness of the campaign; the protest event attracted approximately 6,000 people. On 24 February 2013, an estimated 20,000 people gathered for a charity concert in
Fremantle, Western Australia to raise awareness and funds to help protect the Kimberley, with performances from
Ball Park Music, Missy Higgins, and John Butler. Woodside and its Joint Venture partners withdrew from the project on April 12, 2013. ==Economy==