Salvator Rosa, Carnarvon National Park

Crystal clear springs add more than ten million litres of water a day to peaceful Louisa Creek and the Nogoa River as they meander beneath a backdrop of rocky sandstone crags and spires.

Named by explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846, Salvator Rosa, a section of Carnarvon National Park, is at the western edge of the Central Queensland Sandstone Belt. The course-grained sandstones of Salvator Rosa are very crumbly. Erosion of the sandstone has left behind many interesting features that dominate the skyline, including Spyglass Peak and the Sentinel.

Wildflowers add colour to the landscape in spring. Large white flannel flowers and cream sprays of narrow-leaved logania contrasts with the pink flowers hanging from the shrubby Homoranthus. Of the more than 300 plant species recorded in the park, at least ten are considered rare or threatened.

Image credits—Robert Ashdown © Queensland Government