The Indarri Falls travertine dam,Lawn Hill Creek,northwestern Queensland,Australia

Indarri Falls is a spectacular travertine dam which impounds Lawn Hill Creek, a perennial karst stream draining the Barkly Tableland in northwest Queensland, Australia. The dam is at least 13·5 m high, making it the largest feature of its kind known in Australia. Carbonate precipitation at the falls is favoured by downstream changes in the bulk chemistry of the karst spring waters which feed the Creek, although deposition at the microenvironmental level may be encouraged by biological factors. The dam has dramatically altered the hydrology and geomorphology of the area, transforming the middle reaches of Lawn Hill Creek from a fluvial to a lacustrine environment. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.