Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park

Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park South Australia
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park
Nearest town or city	Streaky Bay.
Coordinates	32°59′39″S 134°20′32″E / 32.9943°S 134.3423°E / -32.9943; 134.3423Coordinates: 32°59′39″S 134°20′32″E / 32.9943°S 134.3423°E / -32.9943; 134.3423
Established	14 February 1974 (1974-02-14)
Area	36.44 km2 (14.1 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
Website	Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park
Footnotes	Coordinates Nearest town Managing authority
See also	Protected areas of South Australia

Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Eyre Peninsula in the gazetted localities of Calca, Mortana and Yanerbie about 25 kilometres (16 mi) sout-east of the town centre in Streaky Bay.

The conservation park was proclaimed on 14 February 1974 under the state’s National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in respect to land in sections 121, 122, 128, 129, 144, 179, 180 and 189 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Wrenfordsley. Land in sections 248 and 249 was added on 16 July 1985. Its name is derived from the Calpatanna Waterhole which is located within its boundaries. As of July 2016, the conservation park covered an area of 36.44 square kilometres (14.07 sq mi).

As of 2017, the conservation park’s habitat was described by the South Australian Ornithological Association as follows:

There is a 500 hectare claypan lagoon in the south-western quadrant of Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park and a complex of smaller lakes along the remainder of the western side. In this area a narrow zone of samphire low shrubland is found. A complex system of low-lying but rarely inundated flats extends from the western salt lakes to the eastern boundary covering approximately 26 per cent of the park’s area (sic). These flats support an open-scrub dominated by Swamp Paper-bark (Melaleuca halmaturorum). Much of the park (sic) is dominated by mallee open-scrub with White Mallee (Eucalyptus dumosa), Yorrell (E. gracilis), Kingscote Mallee (E. rugosa) and Yalata Mallee (E. yalatensis). There are also areas of introduced grassland as a result from clearing and grazing of native vegetation before the dedication of the park (sic).