Horizontal Falls facts for kids

The Horizontal Falls, also called the Horizontal Waterfalls, are a unique natural wonder in Western Australia. People sometimes call them the "Horries". The local Indigenous people, the Dambimangari, know them as Garaanngaddim. This amazing sight happens when strong tides cause water to flow horizontally, creating waterfalls that change direction with the tide. The area around the falls is protected as the Lalang-garram / Horizontal Falls Marine Park.

What are the Horizontal Falls?

The falls are formed by water rushing through two narrow gorges (like deep, narrow valleys) in the McLarty Ranges. These gorges are about 300 metres apart, located in Talbot Bay (Ganbadba) within the Buccaneer Archipelago.

The magic happens because of huge tides, which can be as high as 10 metres! As the tide comes in or goes out, water builds up faster on one side of the narrow gaps than the other. This creates a waterfall effect, even though the water is flowing sideways! The gap closer to the sea is about 20 metres wide, while the one further inland is about 10 metres wide. The waterfall can be up to 4 metres high. When the tide changes, the direction of the falls also reverses.

Famous naturalist David Attenborough once said the Horizontal Falls are "one of the greatest wonders of the natural world". Many tourists visit to see this incredible sight, and some even take boat rides through the gaps for an exciting experience!

Protecting the Ocean: Marine Parks

The waters around the Horizontal Falls are part of a special protected area called the Lalang-garram / Horizontal Falls Marine Park. Marine parks are like national parks, but for the ocean. They help protect important marine life and habitats.

Lalang-garram / Horizontal Falls Marine Park

This marine park is managed together by the Government of Western Australia's Parks and Wildlife Service and the traditional owners of the land and waters, the Dambimangari people. Traditional owners are the Aboriginal people who have a deep, long-standing connection to the land and sea.

The Dambimangari people chose the name "Lalang-garram". In their Worrorra language, it means “the saltwater as a spiritual place as well as a place of natural abundance.” This shows how important the ocean is to their culture and way of life. The Horizontal Falls are known as Garaanngaddim to the Dambimangari people.

A Bigger Plan for Protection

There's a bigger plan to protect even more of the ocean along the Kimberley coast. The Lalang-garram / Horizontal Falls Marine Park is part of a larger network of marine parks. These parks are being combined to form a huge protected area called the Lalang-gaddam Marine Park. This new, larger park will cover about 30,000 square kilometres of coastal waters!

The new spelling, "Lalang-gaddam", is the correct way to pronounce the word. Another new park, the Maiyalam Marine Park, is also being added. "Maiyalam" means "between islands" or "a gap through". These efforts help protect the amazing marine life and beautiful landscapes of Western Australia for future generations.

See also

In Spanish: Horizontal Falls para niños