Lake Surprise fills a volcano crater at Budj Bim National Park in southeastern Australia.
Credit: Peter (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Australia is famous for its unique culture, metropolitan cities, and unusual wildlife, among other things. Each week, this seasonal feature will spotlight one of Australia’s many wonders.

The inactive volcano and cultural site Budj Bim made history when, in 2019, it became the first World Heritage site listed exclusively for its value to Aboriginal culture. Such sites are places of unique cultural or natural importance as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Budj Bim, once known as Mount Eccles, is located in southeastern Australia. The overlapping craters of Budj Bim hold lakes in which Aboriginal people maintained systems of aquaculture (the raising of water animals and plants) for thousands of years. Budj Bim means High Head in the language of the Gunditjmara people (also called the Dhauwurd Wurrung) of southwestern Victoria state. Budj Bim sits about 170 miles (270 kilometers) west of Melbourne. It is part of the 20,700-acre (8,370-hectare) Budj Bim National Park (formerly Mount Eccles National Park).

Gunditjmara tradition holds that Budj Bim is part of the body of an ancient creator being, who was revealed to Aboriginal people in an eruption around 30,000 years ago. The last known eruption of Budj Bim occurred about 8,000 years ago. Starting at least 6,600 years ago, the Gunditjmara people began creating a system of channels and dams to trap eels and other fish among the rock formations of Budj Bim. The result was an aquaculture system that provided plentiful food, and permanent Aboriginal settlements were established at nearby Lake Condah and Lake Gorrie. European settlers arrived in the area in the 1830’s.

Budj Bim—named Mount Eccles by European settlers—became a protected area in 1926 and a national park in 1960. Mount Eccles National Park was renamed Budj Bim National Park in 2017. The area is popular for camping, hiking, and picnicking.

July 26, 2019

Earlier this month in July, Budj Bim, an inactive volcano and cultural site in southeastern Australia, was named a World Heritage Site. Such sites are places of unique cultural or natural importance as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Budj Bim, once known as Mount Eccles, is the first World Heritage Site listed exclusively for its value to Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal people maintained systems of aquaculture (the raising of water animals and plants) in the crater lakes of Budj Bim for thousands of years.

Lake Surprise fills one of the volcano craters at Budj Bim National Park in southeastern Australia. Credit: Peter (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Budj Bim means High Head in the language of the Gunditjmara people (also called the Dhauwurd Wurrung) of southwestern Victoria state. Budj Bim sits about 170 miles (270 kilometers) west of Melbourne. It is part of the 20,700-acre (8,370-hectare) Budj Bim National Park (formerly Mount Eccles National Park).

Gunditjmara tradition holds that Budj Bim is part of the body of an ancient creator being, who was revealed to Aboriginal people in an eruption around 30,000 years ago. The last known eruption of Budj Bim occurred about 8,000 years ago. Starting at least 6,600 years ago, the Gunditjmara people began creating a system of channels and dams to trap eels and other fish among the rock formations of Budj Bim. The result was an aquaculture system that provided plentiful food, and permanent Aboriginal settlements were established at nearby Lake Condah and Lake Gorrie. European settlers arrived in the area in the 1830’s.

Budj Bim—named Mount Eccles by European settlers—became a protected area in 1926 and a national park in 1960. Mount Eccles National Park was renamed Budj Bim National Park in 2017. The area is popular for camping, hiking, and picnicking.

February 16, 2017

For some 2,000 years, sunken water systems called stepwells have provided fresh water and a cooling reprieve for people of the Indian subcontinent. Much of India’s climate is often oppressively hot, and fresh, cool water sources are a necessity. Stepwells are large, open wells constructed in downward tiers that often reach 100 feet (30 meters) below ground level. As their name implies, stepwells are lined with steps, allowing people to descend to the cool air and ground water below. Stepwells provide refreshing water, but they also offer a physical and aesthetic (artistically beautiful) break from the burning light and searing air—and hustle and bustle—of the surface above.

A woman pauses to admire some of the 800 sculptures among the many levels of the Rani-ki-Vav stepwell in Patan, Gujarat, India. Credit: © Shutterstock

India’s best-known stepwells are concentrated in the arid north and west of the country, but they can also also be found in the nation’s steamy southern states. Stepwells were once a common public water source, and thousands of stepwells once lined the subcontinent’s important trade routes. Their numbers have dwindled with the development of more modern water systems, but many are still in use. The elaborate Agrasen-ki-Baoli stepwell sits among the wide streets of New Delhi, India’s capital city. In Ahmedabad in northwestern Gujarat state, the Adalaj-ni-Vav stepwell adds legend to the water: centuries ago, a queen drowned herself there after the city was conquered by invaders.

India’s most famous stepwell, Rani-ki-Vav (queen’s stepwell), sits like an inverted temple in the Gujarat city of Patan. Rani-ki-Vav, built by Queen Udayamati in the late 1000’s, is a World Heritage Site. Such sites are places of unique cultural or natural importance as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The stepwell has seven tapering levels, each lined with intricate sculptural panels detailing—among other things—the incarnations of Vishnu, one of the two main gods of Hinduism. UNESCO calls Rani-ki-Vav “an architectural monument of human creative genius,” illustrating “technological, architectural, and artistic mastery.”

Udayamati built Rani-ki-Vav as a memorial to her husband, King Bhimadeva of the Chalukya dynasty (line of rulers). The stepwell is 210 feet (64 meters) long, 80 feet (24 meters) wide, and 90 feet (27 meters) deep. At the bottom is a 75-foot (23-meter) deep pool of water. In the 1200’s, Rani-ki-Vav was buried in silt deposited by floodwaters of the Saraswati River. The site was lost to history until the 1980’s, when archaeologists excavated the well, which was in an exceptional state of conservation. Over the centuries, however, ground water has shifted, and the pool must now be filled from external water sources. Regardless, Rani-ki-Vav is famous for its artistic splendor, and it still provides a cool break from the heat and sun above.

June 11, 2012

The Great Wall of China is more than twice as long as originally believed, China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) recently announced. According to the first definitive archaeological survey of the ancient structure, the wall is 13,170.6956 miles (21,196.18 kilometers) long. A preliminary SACH estimate released in 2009 set the length at 5,500 miles (8,850 kilometers). The survey, begun in 2007, mapped every trace of the wall across 15 Chinese provinces. In his report, SACH deputy chief Tongo Mingkang noted that some 43,700 heritage sites were identified during the survey, “including stretches of the wall, defense works and passes, as well as other related Great Wall facilities and ruins.”

The Great Wall of China stretches about 13,170 miles (21,000 kilometers) across northern China. It was originally built to keep out invaders. (© Susan Zheng from Peter Arnold, Inc.)

The Great Wall–originally contracted of stone, bricks, and packed earth–is the world’s largest structure constructed by people. Begun some 2,500 years ago, it was designed to protect China’s northern border from marauding tribes from what is now Mongolia. Although work continued on the wall for centuries, the majority of the existing structure was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Only 8.2 percent of the Ming wall remains intact. The survey crew found that in many places the wall has collapsed; in other sections, only the foundations remain.

UNESCO listed the Great Wall as a world heritage site in 1987. UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that fosters peace and security through cooperation in the areas of education, science, and culture.