Undara Volcanic

Undara Volcanic National Park was declared in 1992 in northern Queensland, in the McBride volcanic province, and protects one of the most remarkable lava tube systems on the planet. Some 190,000 years ago the Undara crater emitted an enormous volume of very fluid basaltic lava that ran down the pre-existing watercourses for tens of kilometres, in one of the longest flows known from a single volcano.

As it cooled, the surface of the flow solidified into a crust while the lava kept running beneath. When the eruption ceased, the lava still inside drained away and left hollow galleries: the lava tubes. Some sections collapsed over time and opened natural entrances into the system, and those depressions trap moisture and create islands of rainforest in the middle of a landscape of dry eucalypt woodland, a striking ecological contrast.

The interior of the tubes holds colonies of bats of several species and an associated fauna that includes pythons which catch them in flight at the cave mouths at dusk. Access to the cavities is restricted and permitted only on a guided visit, both for safety and to protect the colonies. On the surface, the park preserves volcanic cones, craters and flows of different ages that document a long eruptive history in the region.