Barron Falls

Barron Falls Din Din
Barron Falls in the wet season.
Location	Kuranda, Queensland, Australia
Coordinates	16°49′59″S 145°38′35″E[1][2]
Type	Steep Tiered Cascade
Total height	125 metres (410 ft)[3]
Number of drops	4
Longest drop	107 metres (351 ft)[3]
Total width	259 metres (850 ft)[3]
Average width	137 metres (449 ft)[3]
Watercourse	Barron River
Average flow rate	30 cubic metres per second (1,100 cu ft/s)[3]

Barron Falls (Aboriginal: Din Din^[4]) is a steep tiered cascade waterfall in Kuranda, Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia.^[5] The falls are created by the Barron River descending from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain.^[3]

In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Barron Falls was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "natural attraction".^[6]

Location and features

Barron Falls in dry season.

Protected within the Barron Gorge National Park, the volume of water seen in the upper photo only occurs after substantial rainfall during the wet season. For much of the rest of the year, little more than a trickle is evident, due in part to the presence of a weir behind the head of the falls that supplies the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station located downstream in the gorge.

The Barron Falls may be viewed and reached by road via the Kennedy Highway that crosses the Barron River upstream of the falls, near Kuranda. The narrow-gauge Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Skyrail aerial tram also lead from the coastal plain to the tablelands. The train stops at Barron Falls overlook, where passengers may disembark for several minutes. The Skyrail stops at two rainforest mid-stations, Red Peak and Barron Falls. The trail at Barron Falls Skyrail station leads through the rainforest to three separate lookouts providing views of the Gorge and Falls.^[7]

Etymology

Video of Barron Falls in flood

The falls were named for Thomas Henry Bowman Barron, the Chief Clerk of Police in Brisbane in the 1860s.^[3]

Tourist attraction

The falls were one of the most popular tourist attractions in Queensland by the 1890s. Visitors are drawn to the natural features and scenery.^[4]

See also

• List of waterfalls of Queensland

References

1. "Barron Falls (QLD)". Gazetteer of Australia online. Geoscience Australia, Australian Government.
2. "Barron Falls (QLD)". Gazetteer of Australia online. Geoscience Australia, Australian Government.
3. "Barron Falls". World Waterfall Database. 2014. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
4. Julie Carmody & Bruce Prideaux. "Sustainable Nature Based Tourism: Planning and Management. Report on Visitation and Use at Barron Falls, Far North Queensland 2009/10" (PDF). Wet Tropics Site Report 5/10. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
5. "Barron Falls – waterfall in the Shire of Mareeba (entry 1761)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
6. Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
7. "Barron Falls Station". Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008.

External links

Media related to Barron Falls at Wikimedia Commons

• "Barron Falls". World of Waterfalls. Johnny T. Cheng. 21 May 2008.