Jim Jim Falls
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox waterfall
| name = Jim Jim Falls
Barrkmalam
| photo = Jim_Jim_Falls.jpg
| photo_width = 250px
| photo_caption = Jim Jim Falls during the wet season, Kakadu National Park
| map = Northern Territory
| relief = yes
| map_width = 250px
| coordinates = {{coord|13|16|20|S|132|50|22|E|type:waterbody_region:AU-NT_scale:50000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coords_ref = {{Gazetteer of Australia|id=NT21048|name=Twin Falls (NT)}}
| location = Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
| type = Plunge
| elevation = {{convert|259|m}} {{AHD}}
| height = {{convert|140|-|200|m}}
| height_longest =
| number_drops = 1
| width =
| average_width =
| watercourse = Jim Jim Creek
| average_flow =
| world_rank =
}}
The Jim Jim Falls (Aboriginal: Barrkmalam) is a plunge waterfall on the Jim Jim Creek that descends over the Arnhem Land escarpment within the UNESCO World Heritage{{endash}}listed Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Jim Jim Falls area is registered on the Australian National Heritage List.{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/node/19775|title=World Heritage Places – Kakadu National Park|department=Department of the Environment|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|access-date=17 May 2014}}
Etymology
The English name "Jim Jim Falls" comes from the local Kundjeyhmi word andjimdjim, referring to the water pandanus (Pandanus aquaticus), a native plant.{{cite web |title=Jim Jim Plunge Pool Walk |url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/do/walks/jim-jim-plunge-pool-walk/ |website=Kakadu National Park |publisher=Kakadu National Park |access-date=22 June 2019}} Andjimdjim (or mandjimdjim in the neighbouring Kunwinjku language{{cite web |last1=Garde |first1=Murray |title=mandjimdjim |url=https://www.njamed.com/#mandjimdjim |website=Bininj Kunwok Dictionary |publisher=Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre |access-date=22 June 2019}}) lines the creek below Jim Jim Falls.
Location and features
The waterfall descends from an elevation of {{convert|259|m}} above sea level via one drop that ranges in height between {{convert|140|and|200|m}} into a plunge pool within the creek.{{cite web|url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=253207&cmd=sp|title=Map of Jim Jim Falls (Barrkmalam), NT|work=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia|access-date=17 May 2014}} The falls are located near the eastern boundary of the national park and {{convert|28|km}} south of {{NTcity|Jabiru}}. In the dry season, access from the Kakadu Highway is possible via a {{convert|60|km|adj=on}} gravel road, with the final {{convert|11|km}} suitable for four-wheel drive vehicles only. However, during much of this period the falls dry up and do not flow. In the wet season when the falls are at their most spectacular, it is impossible to drive any vehicle into the area and are best viewed from the air together with the nearby Twin Falls.{{cite web|url=http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/australia-jim-jim-falls.html|title=Jim Jim Falls|work=World of Waterfalls|publisher=Johnny T. Cheng|date=6 June 2006|access-date=17 May 2014}}
140 million years, ago much of Kakadu was under a shallow sea. The prominent escarpment wall formed sea cliffs and the Arnhem Land plateau formed a flat land above the sea. Today the escarpment, which rises to {{convert|330|m}} above the plains, extends over {{convert|500|km}} along the eastern side of the national park and into Arnhem Land. It varies from vertical cliffs in the Jim Jim Falls area to stepped cliffs and isolated outliers in the north.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}
In popular culture
"Jim Jim Falls" is the first track on English singer Morrissey's album I Am Not A Dog On A Chain
Jim Jim Falls is mentioned in Season 5, Episode 11 of the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno. In the episode, "A B, a B and a Q", the characters Belinda and Bella from Belinda Blinked meet Quentin who has just returned from the falls.
See also
{{stack|{{Portal|Environment}}}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=http://lrm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/13925/16_westarnhem.pdf|type=PDF|title=An inventory of sites of international and national significance for biodiversity values in the Northern Territory|work=Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport|publisher=Government of the Northern Territory|pages=303–308|isbn=978-1-921519-19-2|access-date=17 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312165115/http://lrm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/13925/16_westarnhem.pdf|archive-date=12 March 2014|url-status=dead}}
- [http://en.travelnt.com/explore/kakadu-arnhem/kakadu-national-park.aspx Tourist Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525055711/http://en.travelnt.com/explore/kakadu-arnhem/kakadu-national-park.aspx |date=25 May 2009 }} Kakadu National Park
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080516190312/http://www.travelnt.com/en/explore/kakadu/region/kakadu-national-park-map.html Google Map] Map of Kakadu National Park with major camp sites
{{Australian Waterfalls |state=autocollapse}}