Lesueur Conservation Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lesueur Conservation Park South Australia
IUCN Category Ia (Strict Nature Reserve)
Lesueur Conservation Park Location in South Australia
Nearest town or city	Penneshaw
Established	21 January 1971
Area	14.14 km2 (5.5 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Department for Environment and Water
See also	Protected areas of South Australia

Lesueur Conservation Park, formerly the Cape Hart Conservation Park and the Cape Hart National Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island.

It was dedicated in 1971 to conserve a representative example of the soils and coastal vegetation of the southern part of the eastern end of the island. It is characterised by impressive coastal cliff scenery. Its name was changed on 28 March 2002 in honour of Charles Alexandre Lesueur, a member of the Baudin expedition to Australia.

Description

The conservation park has an area of 14.14 square kilometres (5.46 sq mi) including a 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) length of coastline. It lies about 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) south-west of Cape Willoughby, the easternmost point of Kangaroo Island, and 15 km south-east of the town of Penneshaw. Geologically, the conservation park lies on sandstone, with granite boulders along the coast. The vegetation is mainly an open scrub of Eucalyptus diversifolia (Soap Mallee), with low shrubland containing Melaleuca gibbosa on the coastal cliffs. There are patches of Eucalyptus cneorifolia / Melaleuca uncinata open heath and Allocasuarina verticillata low open forest. Kangaroo Island kangaroos and Tammar wallabies inhabit the conservation park and Australian sea lions frequent the coast.

The conservation park is classified as an IUCN Category Ia protected area.