Waterfall Gully, South Australia - Geography

Geography

Waterfall Gully is situated at an average elevation of 234 m (768 ft) above sea level, in an area of 6.08 km2 (2.35 sq mi). Its most notable geographical features are its gully and waterfall. Langman Reserve, a large local park, is 300 m (980 ft) from the start of Waterfall Gully Road while much of the north-eastern side of the gully is part of Cleland Conservation Park. Adjoining Waterfall Gully, 2 km (1.2 mi) away, is Chambers Gully, which used to function as a land-fill, but has in the past decade been reclaimed as a park through volunteer work. It contains a number of old ruins, walking trails, and springs and is home to a significant number of native species.

Since European Settlement the native plant life has been considerably affected, with the native Manna Gum and Blue Gum woodlands being largely cleared for agricultural uses. The large amount of non-native vegetation in the gully is predominantly the result of the early agriculture, although some species were introduced by accident. Introduced species include olive trees, hawthorn, fennel and blackberry. With the reduction of native flora, exotic fauna have flourished around the Waterfall Gully region. These include rabbits, blackbirds and starlings. However, not all of the native wildlife has been lost—bats (in particular, Gould's Wattled Bat), can be found in the area, as can Superb Fairy-wrens and Adelaide Rosellas, and a large number of unique Australian animals such as kangaroos, koalas and possums can be spotted on some of the walking trails.