Papua New Guinea - The Sublime Karsts of Papua New Guinea

Nakanai. The Nakanai Mountains is an area of outstanding natural beauty on the Island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. To the north the mountain range is dominated by a group of spectacular volcanoes. It is bounded on the east by the Kol Mountains and to the west the Kapiura - Ania Divide which divides the Nakanai Mountains from the Whiteman Range. Muller Plateau. The surface terrain of the Muller Plateau is extremely inhospitable and difficult to traverse. The area being proposed for inclusion here is in fact virtually uninhabited. The Hindenburg Wall. The geological and geomorphic history is probably even more complex than that of the Muller Range. The Darai limestones are extremely variable and interbedded with shales and siltstones. Chert nodules and distinctive "fossil" forms of uncertain origin are common. Then there are a number of faults and anticlines from tectonic change. The giant scarps of the Hindenberg wall and the Bahrman Range give rise to unique patterns of air movement that in turn have sculpted the rock surface. Various phases of tectonic change and of valley glaciation caused major changes in hydrological patterns and cave morphology. Meanwhile the surface was shaped by erosion into towerkarst, then collapse of successive phases of towerkarst. In broad terms, the region is characterised by the mountain scarps on north and south.