UNESCO Australia - Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory

Kakadu National Park is the most diverse region in all of northern Australia, in both landscape and varieties of life, and is of primary importance for those studying both archaeology and ethnography. Many sites within the park attest to more than 40,000 years of habitation by the Aboriginal hunter-gather societies that are still present and living within the park area today. In fact, Kakadu has the distinction of being the earliest known area of habitation on the entire Australian continent. This park was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1981.
It’s hard to find a place on Earth that has a more breathtaking landscape than Kakadu. It ranges from the hills, basins and plateaus of the
inland to the marshes, floodplains and tidal flats of the coastline. Two islands off the coast are also encompassed within the park boundaries. The coastline itself is composed of a sandy beaches and rocky coves.
This variety of landscape features has given rise to a wide assortment of flora and fauna over the years. Where the inland, coastal and marine regions meet creates unique habitats. Forty-six known rare species of plants are found in the park, nine of which are found only there. In fact, much of the life in Kakadu can be found nowhere else.
There are also several relic species, survived from a time long ago in a relatively unchanged fashion.
Kakadu is an extremely important area for mass waterbird migration. More than 2.5 million birds come through the park every year. In addition, there is an unusually high number of insect species and an assortment of different fish in the park.
Archaeologically, some of the oldest cave paintings in the world can be found in Kakadu. These painting
date from a time more than 20,000 years ago and continue all the way up to the present day, the tradition being continued by approximately 300 Aborigines who still live there. Other artifacts consist of rock carvings and some of the oldest stone tools in the world.
Luckily, Kakadu has seen very little interference and preservation of the area is excellent. This region was virtually untouched during the period of European colonization of Australia, so most of what remains today is as it has been for thousands of years. There are few places on the earth which are as
awe-inspiring and culturally rich as Kakadu.






















