THE INDARRI FALLS TRAVERTINE DAM, LAWN HILL CREEK, NORTHWEST QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Indarri Falls is a spectacular travertine dam which impounds Lawn Hill Creek, a perennial karst stream draining the Barkly Tableland in nort hwest Queensland, Australia. The dam is at least 13.5m high, making it the largest feature of its kind known in Australia. Carbonate precipi tation at the Falls is favoured by downstream changes in the bulk chem istry of the karst spring waters which feed the Creek, although deposi tion at the microenvironmental level may be encouraged by biological f actors. The dam has dramatically altered the hydrology and geomorpholo gy of the area, transforming the middle reaches of Lawn Hill Creek fro m a fluvial to a lacustrine environment. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons , Ltd.