Warrumbungle

Declared in 1953, it protects a volcanic landscape of rock spires formed some 13-17 million years ago by the differential erosion of ancient lava flows. In 2016 it became Australia's first internationally certified Dark Sky Park, recognising the exceptional absence of light pollution that had already led in 1982 to the siting here of Siding Spring Observatory, Australia's principal centre for ground-based optical astronomical research.