Grose Valley

Grose
Valley
View from Govetts Leap
Name origin: In honour of Francis Grose
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
Regions	Sydney Basin (IBRA), Blue Mountains
Local government area	Blue Mountains
Part of	Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site
Landmark	Blue Gum Forest
River	Grose River
Highest point	Mount Banks
- elevation	1,049 m (3,442 ft)
- coordinates	33°35′19″S 150°22′16″E / 33.588611°S 150.371111°E / -33.588611; 150.371111 (Mount Banks)
Area	50,200 km2 (19,382 sq mi)
Period	Triassic
For public	Yes, hiking only
Easiest access	west of Agnes Banks; descent from Perrys Lookdown or Evans Lookout
National park	Blue Mountains NP
Waterfalls	Bridal Veil Falls, Victoria Falls

The Grose Valley is a rugged valley in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. It has been formed by the Grose River, the headwaters of which are in the Mount Victoria area. The valley is located between the Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road, the two major routes across the Blue Mountains. The majority of the valley falls within the Blue Mountains National Park.

The Grose Wilderness contains some of the most dramatic gorge and canyon landscapes of the entire Sydney basin sandstone region. The Grose also constitutes one of the most accessible wilderness areas for bushwalking or public observation from its escarpment margins.

The geology of the area consists of Triassic sandstones and underlying Permian sedimentary rocks. A number of basalt-capped peaks dominate the area, notably Mount Banks and Mount Hay. The Grose River and its tributaries have eroded an extensive labyrinth of gorges and canyons through the Hawkesbury (upper) and Narrabeen (lower) group sandstones, exposing cliffs of commonly over 200 metres (660 ft) and up to 510 metres (1,670 ft) in height (Banks Wall). The Burramoko Head sandstone in the upper and middle Grose gorges possesses weathering tendencies of breakage along vertical joints and has consequently yielded some of the sheerest cliff faces in the Blue Mountains. The wilderness contains 80% of the Grose River catchment. The river flows to the Nepean-Hawkesbury through an undisturbed environment for all but its final 5 kilometres (3.1 mi). Consequently, the Grose has substantial wild river values, as do its major tributaries such as Wentworth Creek and Carmarthen Brook.