Stanwell Park - Environment

"Stanwell Park occupies an amphitheatre shaped valley, with steep forested slopes rising 300m to the plateau." (Short, 1993) It is surrounded on three sides by the Illawarra escarpment and by the ocean to the east. Progressive development of the catchment over the years has transformed the area from a natural rainforest to an urban area.
Climate

Stanwell Park has a temperate climate with a distinct maritime influence. Summer and autumn are characterised by moderate to high termperatures, high humidity, onshore winds and peak rainfall. (Sydney Water, 1999)

Geology

As progression is made from inland towards the ocean the geology changes from quartz lithic sandstone to quartz and lithic "fluvial" sand, silt, and clay, and medium to coarse grained "marine" quartz sand with shelly layers. (Sydney Water, 1999)

Vegetation in the area includes:-

Heath - Found on the sand dunes and gentle slopes adjacent to Stanwell Park Beach
Open Forest - occurs on the slideslopes and in gullies and includes species such as Blackbutt, Turpentine, Grey Ironbark and Smooth-barked Apple.
Reedland - occurs on the margins of the southern lagoon of Stanwell Park and includes Native Reed and Swamp Oak. (Sydney Water, 1999)

There are two main creeks in the Stanwell Park area:-

Stanwell Creek - flows through two small dams on the top of the escarpment, before flowing over the escarpment into the southern valley of Stanwell Park. The channel of the creek is steep until it reaches the southern end of Stanwell Park Beach and widens into a lagoon. The lagoon is periodically open to the ocean.

Hargraves Creek - begins on the escarpment in scrubland adjacent to the Southern Freeway. It flows into a large rock pool and over the escarpment. It enters the sea at the northern end of Stanwell Park Beach. The mouth of the creek is periodically open to the sea. (Sydney Water, 1999)