THE LAND TIME FORGOT
About half-way between Mount Isa and Hells Gate, as the crow flies, lies Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park, an oasis of emerald waters and lush vegetation deep in the remote Gulf savannah country of northwest Queensland.
The park’s central feature is a spectacular red sandstone gorge carved by Lawn Hill Creek through the parched and rugged labyrinth of the Constance Range.
This splendid landscape attracts some 40,000 visitors each year, many of whom come and go without realising that, tucked away in an easily accessible corner of the park, is a fossil field of such rare and outstanding quality that it holds a special place on the World Heritage List.
The 100 square kilometre Australian Fossil Mammal Site at Riversleigh, 50km south of Lawn Hill Gorge, is the richest and most extensive known mammal deposit in Australia and few, if any, other fossil fields in the world have contributed as much to our knowledge of prehistoric mammals.
