Editing Thirlmere Lakes National Park

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2011}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                   = protected
| name                   = Thirlmere Lakes National Park
| state                  = nsw
| iucn_category          = II
| image                  = Thirlmere.jpg
| caption                = Thirlmere Lakes
| image_alt              = 
| coordinates            = {{coord|34|13|32|S|150|32|19|E|display=inline,title}}
| force_national_map     = 
| relief                 = 1
| pushpin_map_caption    = 
| pushpin_label_position = left
| map_alt                = 
| nearest_town_or_city   = {{NSWcity|Couridjah}}
| area                   = 6.29<!-- If the area is greater than 100ha (1km2) a conversion template is not required. -->
| area_footnotes         = <ref name=oeh>{{cite web|title=Thirlmere Lakes National Park: Park management|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkManagement.aspx?id=N0033|work=Office of Environment and Heritage|publisher=[[Government of New South Wales]]|access-date=26 May 2011}}</ref>
| established            = {{start date|1972|04|07|df=y}}
| established_footnotes  = <ref name=oeh/>
| visitation_num         = 
| visitation_year        = 
| visitation_footnotes   = 
| managing_authorities   = [[National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)|NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service]]
| url                    = https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/thirlmere-lakes-national-park
<!-- Deprecated parameters -->
<!-- The following parameters have been deprecated since 27 December 2013. This infobox should be modified so that these parameters are no longer needed. -->
}}

The '''Thirlmere Lakes National Park''' is a [[state park|protected]] [[national park]] that is located in the [[Macarthur (New South Wales)|Macarthur]] region of [[New South Wales]], in eastern [[Australia]]. The {{convert|629|ha|adj=on}} national park is situated approximately {{convert|70|km}} [[South-western Sydney|southwest]] of the [[Sydney central business district]], and just to the west of {{NSWcity|Thirlmere}}. It was [[gazette#gazetted as a verb|gazetted]] in 1972 as Thirlmere Lakes State Park, before being subsequently reclassified as a national park.<ref name=wright/>

==History==

The national park is one of the eight protected areas that, in 2000, was inscribed to form part of the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage]]{{endash}}listed [[Greater Blue Mountains Area]].<ref name=whl>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/917|title=Greater Blue Mountains Area|work=World Heritage List|date=2014|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|access-date=31 August 2014}}</ref> The Thirlmere Lakes National Park is the most south{{endash}}easterly and the smallest of the eight protected areas within the World Heritage Site.<ref name=oeh/>

===Crisis===
Two of the lakes have dried out since the mid 1980s due to removal of groundwater in the region secondary to coal mining at the [[Tahmoor Colliery]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-29/coal-mining-to-blame-for-poor-state-of-thirlmere-lakes/7455320 | title=Thirlmere Lakes: Coal mining to blame for damage to World Heritage area, new reports say | author= Miskelly, Greg | date=29 May 2016|access-date=29 August 2016| work=ABC News}}</ref> The local community is investigating plans to revive the lakes, which might take decades otherwise.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-30/locals-push-for-action-to-stop-drying-out-of-thirlmere-lakes/7455324 | title=Thirlmere Lakes: CLocals push for action to stop World Heritage area drying out | author= Miskelly, Greg | date=30 May 2016|access-date=29 August 2016| work=ABC News}}</ref>

==Features==
The main feature of the park are the lakes, thought to have formed around 15 million years ago by geological activity, the land lifting and largely cutting them off from the local river system. Their outflow is reduced to the small Blue Gum Creek, which flows west into the Little River in the adjacent [[Nattai National Park]] to the west.<ref name=wright>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Peter|title=National Parks of Southern NSW|publisher=Bridge Printery|location=Rosebery, NSW|year=1996|isbn=0-9587590-1-4|pages=36–37}}</ref>

The lakes and their environs contain an unusual and diverse array of flora and fauna. It contains the rare freshwater sponge ''[[Radiospongilla sceptroides]]'',<ref name=PoM>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/pomfinalthirlmere.pdf|title=Thirlmere Lakes National Park: New Plan of Management|type=PDF|work=[[National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)|NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service]]|publisher=[[Government of New South Wales]]|date=November 1997|isbn=0-7310-7619-2}}</ref> and is notable for an absence of freshwater snails.<ref name=wright/> The lakes contain the rare watershield (''[[Brasenia schreberi]]'') and are lined with rare species such as the grey sedge (''[[Lepironia articulata]]'') and the wooly frogsmouth lily (''[[Philydrum lanuginosum]]''). The habitat provides a home for the otherwise scarce [[Australasian bittern]] (''Botaurus poiciloptilus''), and migratory [[Latham's snipe]] ''Gallinago hardwickii''.<ref name=PoM/>

The habitat around the lakes is open [[sclerophyll]] forest, the dominant trees being rough-barked apple (''[[Angophora floribunda]]'') nearby and sydney peppermint (''[[Eucalyptus piperita]]'') and red bloodwood (''[[Corymbia gummifera]]'') on elevated areas. The [[understory]] species include many familiar sydney sandstone flora such as members of the genera ''[[Banksia]]'', ''[[Acacia]]'', pea flowers, and the New South Wales waratah (''[[Telopea speciosissima]]'')<ref name=wright/>

==Climate==
{{climate chart
|  Thirlmere Lakes National Park
| 13| 31| 123
| 15| 24| 215
| 12| 23| 164
| 10| 20| 119
| 7| 17| 54
| 5| 12| 177
| 4| 13| 34
| 7| 14| 97
| 8| 20| 53
| 10| 26| 53
| 11| 28| 87
| 14| 28| 112
|float=left
|clear=left
|source = <ref name = "nasapop">{{Cite web |url= http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.php?datasetId=SEDAC_POP|title= NASA Earth Observations: Population Density|access-date = 30 January 2016 |publisher= "NASA/SEDAC"}}</ref>
}}

{{Clear}}
==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|title=Photos of Thirlmere Lakes National Park
|width=160 | height=170
|align=center
|footer=
|File:Thirlmere Lake, Thirlmere National Park - panoramio.jpg 
 |Thirlmere Lake in Thirlmere Lakes National Park
 |alt1=Thirlmere Lake in Thirlmere Lakes National Park
|File:Pumphouse Thirlmere Lakes NSW.jpg 
 |Pumphouse supplying water for steam trains at Couridjah Station
 |alt2=Stone building formerly housing pumping equipment supplying stand pipes at Couridjah Station for refilling steam locomotive water tanks
|File:Thirlmere Lakes 2.jpg
 |The five lakes in Thirlmere Lakes National Park
 |alt3=Lake Gandangarra (top right), Lake Werri Berri, Lake Couridjah, Lake Baraba and Lake Nerrigorang. The five lakes in Thirlmere Lakes National Park 
|File:Thirlmere Lakes National Park - Ford - panoramio.jpg 
 |Ford in Thirlmere Lakes National Park
 |alt4=Ford in Thirlmere Lakes National Park
}}

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|New South Wales|Environment}}}}
* [[Protected areas of New South Wales]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite map|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/parkMaps/1207ThirlmereLakesNPmap.pdf|title=Thirlmere Lakes National Park|type=PDF Map|work=[[National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)|NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service]]|publisher=[[Government of New South Wales]]|date=December 2007}}
*{{Wikivoyage-inline}}
{{National Parks of New South Wales}}
{{Blue Mountains topics}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:National parks of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1972]]
[[Category:1972 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Blue Mountains (New South Wales)]]
[[Category:Macarthur (New South Wales)]]