Chadinga Conservation Park

Chadinga Conservation Park South Australia
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
Chadinga Conservation Park
Nearest town or city	Penong, South Australia
Coordinates
Established	11 November 1993
Area	11,854 hectares (29,290 acres)
Managing authorities	Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
See also	Protected areas of South Australia

Chadinga Conservation Park, formerly the Chadinga Conservation Reserve, is a protected area in the Chadinga Dunes on the western side of Lake MacDonnell, near Penong, South Australia. The conservation park covers 11,854 hectares (45.8 sq mi) of coastal dunes, containing a lake and areas of Mallee scrub. It is commonly called "Tuckamore" by local people. The dunes extend up to 3 km inland and form a habitat for the spinifex hopping mouse. The park has no visitor facilities, although bush camping is permitted.

Within the conservation park is found the Dinosaur Ant (Nothomyrmecia macrops), noted as a "living fossil". The lake is the largest of several salt lakes in the area - others include Red Lake (a small section of Lake MacDonnell cut off by the Penong to Point Sinclair/Cactus Beach road) and Blue Lake, a smaller lake to the south of Lake MacDonnell.

Further reading

• Baroni Urbani C. 2008. Orthotaxonomy and parataxonomy of true and presumed bulldog ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Doriana 8, N. 358: 1-10.

External links

• Chadinga Conservation Park webpage on protected planet