Isla Gorge National Park is on the Leichhardt Highway, between Taroom and Theodore in the Central Queensland Sandstone belt. The lookout offers fantastic views over the gorge from above and there is camping, toilet facilities and a picnic shelter located near the parking area. Don't forget your camera!
The national park is home to rare and endangered plants, animals and ecosystems and is the traditional country of the Wulli Wulli people. Rock engravings and stencil art show the significance of the land and its features to the Wulli Willi.
You should be able to obtain the necessary information for this Earthcache from the car park and nearby lookout, however the walk out to the GZ coordinates at the end of the ridge is thoroughly recommended and will make it easier to see. The terrain rating reflects the walk to GZ.
There is a formed path to the end of the ridge. The ridge is narrow and has unstable cliff edges on either side, so do not wander off the formed path. Openings in the vegetation afford views across a number of the gorges on the way and the end of the ridge allows a panoramic view across to a feature known locally as the Devil's Nest.
Isla Gorge is located in the Surat Basin, which covers 300,000sq km of Central Northern NSW and Central Southern QLD and is part of the Great Artesian Basin. It is currently a significant area for the development and exploitation of coal and coal-seam gas.
The geology of the area, as the name "Sandstone Belt" suggests, is sandstone and siltstone, laid down during the Jurassic Period, 190 million years ago. There are two distinct types of sandstone here and when you look across the gorge to the opposite walls, the different layers are quite distinct. In some places, basalt rock from ancient volcanos caps the ridges. Uplift and erosion are the forces which have have created the landscape you see today.
To claim this Earthcache please message me the answers to the following questions:
1: There are two types of sandstone making up the features we see today. Please describe them and the most obvious difference between them.
2: Which of these types do you think is harder and what makes you think that ?
3: The Devil's Nest is a distinct cluster of rocks on a distant ridgeline and is much more easily visible from the end of the ridge, so if you don't do the walk, you're not required to answer this question. How does the formation known as "Devil's Nest" differ from the general surrounding landscape and why do you think it does ?
4: Although it is not compulsory, it would be appreciated if you attached photos with your log.