The Kangaroo Point Cliffs are located at Kangaroo Point just across the Brisbane River from the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia. A popular recreation spot, they are conveniently close to the city and the South Bank Parklands. It can be reached by the Pacific Motorway, South-East Busway or a ferry to Thornton Street Wharf.
The Cliffs are situated on the east bank of the river north of the Maritime Museum and opposite the Queensland University of Technology. The area is a popular picnic and abseiling site. The Kangaroo Point Cliffs feature excellent rock climbing possibilities for all skill levels, being primarily a place for recreational climbing. The cliffs are mainly used as a training ground by South East Queensland's rockclimbers. The cliff's rocky formations are lit at night by numerous flood lights.
At the base of the cliff, next to the Brisbane River, is a narrow strip of parkland. The park contains electric barbecues, tables and chairs, sculptures, toilets and ample views of the Captain Cook Bridge, mangroves, the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens and downtown buildings across the river. Native vegetation has been redeveloped into gardens which display a very natural design.
The Kangaroo Point Cliffs were created by convicts mining the volcanic rock or rhyolite lava flows which form the cliffs. These lavas and pyroclastic rocks were deposited in the Triassic Period about 230 million years ago and filled an ancient river valley. These rocks are mainly of rhyolite composition and are part of a geological unit called the Brisbane Tuff.
Housed at the foot of the cliffs until the 1920s, was a naval depot and training base.
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