 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
|
|
|
George Burnett - is a proven High Quality Spice Merchant of 16 Years! "HERE"
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
Your Pictorial Web Site containing 1,120 Pictures of; |
||||||||||||
| PICTORIAL AUSTRALIA | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Designed and Constructed by George Burnett of Hervey Bay Queensland, 4655 Australia | ||||||||||||
| Barrier Reef | Birds of Prey | Blue Mountains | Cape York | Eastern Forests | ||||||||
| Esperance | South West | Tropical Fish | Flinders Ranges | Flora | ||||||||
| Fraser Island | Gippsland | Gulf Country | Insects | Kakadu | ||||||||
| Kangaroo Island | Mount Gambier | Nocturnal | Open Country | Other Birds | ||||||||
| The Outback | Parrots | Philip Island | Pilbara | Pinnacles | ||||||||
| The Red Centre | Reptiles | Sea Animals | Sea Creatures | Snowy Mountains | ||||||||
| Tasmania | Water Birds | Wetlands | Wild Flowers | Wild Life | ||||||||
| Wilson Promontory | Whales | Backpacking | 4 Wheel Drive Hire | My Links | ||||||||
|
|||
|
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
|
|
| This web site is still under construction, please return. I will complete all names and details of pictures as soon as possible, thank you for visiting, George Burnett | |||
 |
|||
|
|||
| Have your favorite VHS Movie converted to a DVD Contact George Burnett "HERE" | |||
| Pinnacles Page 1 | |||
 |
|||
|
| Introduction - Discovery |
| Early records suggest that the
Pinnacles were first noted by Dutch navigators as early as 1658 while
engaged in the trade of spices and other goods to the Dutch East Indies.
The charts tell of "a landmark which gives the appearance of a small city a short distance inland". From out at sea these formations could very easily have been mistaken for those of buildings, but they were not investigated further because of the treacherous reefs. The stabilised sand dunes, the North and South Hummocks, were also recorded on early navigation charts and survey maps. In 1839 Lieutenant Grey also passed through the area after his ship was wrecked near Kalbarri and his party of ten whites and an Aboriginal set off for Perth by foot - an incredible feat of endurance and hardship. Although they had been credited as being the first white men in the area, it was not until 1849 that Major Logue and his stockmen recorded finding the Pinnacles, while searching for lost cattle that had strayed from an overnight stop at the Smith (Nambung) River. |
| Formation of the Pinnacles |
| It is thought that the Pinnacles
started to form some time during the last Great Ice Age, which lasted from
about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago. Periodic advances and retreats of the
ice caps in the Arctic and Antarctic resulted in extensive areas of
glaciation. The water from which the ice caps formed came from the ocean,
and as a result the sea levels dropped by as much as 150 metres below
their present levels. In Western Australia this caused the coast to move some kilometres to the west, exposing huge deposits of sandy shell grit that had formerly been under water. Wind then picked up the exposed shell grit (composed largely of calcium carbonate) and, along with quartz sand from the former sea bottom, deposited this material as a belt of sand dunes parallel to the coast. In time the arid coastline of dunes became stabilised with vegetation. Rainwater then seeped through the dunes and dissolved calcium in the sand causing the shell carbonate to solidify into soft limestone. This is known as Tamala Limestone, because it starts at Tamala Station on the coast just south of Shark Bay in the north and continues right around to Albany in the south. Cementation occurred around the rooting systems of the trees and shrubs and this was aided by the water's becoming more acidic as it passed through the build-up of humus in the soil. The plant roots provided channels for water movement and for the leaching of the limestone, and later, after the roots rotted away, these developed into what are known as solution pipes. Further percolating dissolved much of the softer limestone, and after many thousands of years Pinnacles of all shapes and sizes had been sculptured beneath the surface. A mobile dune then swept over the area where the Pinnacles were lying. Shrubs and trees were gradually engulfed and died, leaving the plant roots intact. Rain water carrying calcium carbonate leached through the new dunes, causing a hard calcite build-up on the root systems and on the original Pinnacles buried below. Continued leaching, erosion and high velocity winds from the south have continually drifted the dunes to the north and successive dune systems have blown over the top of each other, eventually forming the sandy desert. The unhardened sub-soil has eroded away to a depth of up to four metres below the original surface, leaving the Pinnacles looming upwards. Once exposed to the elements above the ground and to the rise and fall in temperatures in the desert where nights are so much colder than days, the Pinnacles weather further, the alternating expansion and contraction of rock causing cracks and forming irregularities in the Pinnacle shapes. The process is helped by the sand, which becomes an abrasive agent when blown by the wind and scours and cuts into the solid rock, creating the many different and unusual shapes we see today. In its timeless fight for survival, the Nambung National Park has very little heavy vegetation and the Pinnacles of the desert stand out looking like a graveyard, an ancient city or giant ant hills. While the weathering processes of the harsh elements continue to shape and erode away the Pinnacles, one comes to realise that in a hundred years or so this protected park could become completely unrecognisable and if another huge mobile dune should cover the area, the future may see only a vast unbroken desert, before another generation of Pinnacles begins to form once again beneath the surface. |
| Nambung National Park |
| The Nambung National Park covers an
area of 17,491 hectares and is situated 245 km north of Perth and 17 km
south of Cervantes. The park comprises three distinct areas set aside for
the preservation of the Pinnacles Desert, the caves and the flora.
Approximately five kilometres inland is the Pinnacles Desert, a
spectacular area of shifting sand and limestone Pinnacles, whose unique
formation has intrigued visitors for many years. The Pinnacles Desert
covers an area of approximately 404 hectares. The base of the desert is 60
m above sea level. Thousands of limestone Pinnacles up to four metres high stand out in sharp relief against a stark landscape of constantly shifting sand and dunes, dotted with small amounts of vegetation. The Pinnacles vary in depth, some going down to the solid limestone at the old water table levels, while others go to the bottom of the rooting system on which they formed. The variation in colours is mainly due to the different soil types, although the most common colour is yellow. This is an eerie landscape of changing moods, often at its most mysterious during the early morning and late afternoon when shadows create remarkable shapes that ripple over the sand, the Pinnacles standing out like a graveyard, an ancient city or giant ant hills. The Nambung River flows only in the winter months but does not reach the sea, terminating in a large swamp and pools near the coast. Mobile dunes have blocked the main course causing it to flow underground through caves. Several caves in the park have been formed as a result of a large run-off of water through the dune limestone. These caves have several hundred metres of passages which are occupied by streams for part of the winter months. Fossil remains of 40 species of mammals have been discovered here, most of the which are now extinct in the area. Of Nambung's 15 significant caves, six are considered to have special value and have been sealed and locked to protect them from vandals. During the summer months most of the wildlife in the National Park is nocturnal, protecting itself from the hot conditions of the day. At night the desert comes alive with beetles, spiders, mice and reptiles, all in the never-ending search for food. Emus and kangaroos are often seen along with a few wild turkeys. Once prolific and in their hundreds, these beautiful birds often appeared on the menu of early settlers and were eagerly hunted by the introduced fox. They are now protected. Dotted throughout the desert are fossilised plant roots which are now very delicate and brittle, rarely reaching thirty centimetres or more in height before being broken off by animals or weather. The soil has also yielded the remains of animals, the most common of these being the shells of native land snails. Aboriginal artefacts which have been dated at 6,000 years or more have also been unearthed. Occasionally other exciting finds are made in the soil which can tell us a great deal about the changing climate and animal life of Western Australia over hundreds of thousands of years. Close to the north end and within the park lies Lake Thetis, a salt lake with a muddy bottom. It is three metres deep, the water level rising and falling with the tide, indicating a possible connection to the sea by seepage through an underground source. The most striking feature of the lake is its growth of the rare Stromatolites. This occurrence is of great scientific interest. Stromatolites are composed of living algal material that has formed flat-topped mounds with a cauliflower-like structure in the shallows. The rough-textured surfaces are deep grey in colour and slightly spongy to touch. Stromatolites are formed by tiny marine algae, which congregate in colonies called mats, which trap and bind minute sediments and sand particles. As the sediment cements into limestone, a new mat grows above the old - hence the name "living rocks". Successive layers build up in much the same ways as coral. Because of the high evaporation rate of the lake, the salinity is probably double that of normal sea water. This makes the water sufficiently salty to deter fish and other organisms that normally live on algal growth, so the stromatolites thrive. This is one of only a few places in the world where they are still growing. North-east of the Nambung National Park is the Badgingarra National Park which has been described as `the heart of the wildflower country'. During spring the roadsides are covered with hundreds of varieties of wildflowers, many unique to this area. The picking of wildflowers is prohibited. |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
 |
 |
||
 |
LEFT: Our 24/7 Online, Workstation, providing Information, and FREE Booking Service World Wide! |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|
The Spice Guys |
|
|
|
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
| Luxury Paints Hervey Bay |
|
|
Business
Cards, Web Page Design & Hosting Internet Marketing; Computer Software Upgrades; Sales & Service; Computers; Monitors; Accessories; New or Used; DVD & CD Burning; Scanning; Secretarial Services; Digital Photography; Computer Tuition Working in Association with; Bay City Electronics, Shop 8, Focal Point, 19 Taylor Street, Pialba Qld 4655, near Corner of Torquay Road. Q4655 (Ph: (07) 4124 6015 By Appointment Only Ph: (07) 4124 8687 Mobile: 0422 297 925 E-mail: georgewhale@yahoo.com |
| George Burnett, Webmaster, Unit 3, 327 The Esplanade |
| Scarness, Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655, Australia |
| Web Site Design, Marketing, Promotion, Scanning, |
| Video Capture, CD Burning, Data, Music, Entertainment, Computer Backup, |
| TV, Video Capture, Business Cards, Computer Upgrades, Repairs, Computer Tuition |
| Fraser Island Marketing, Hervey Bay Real Estate, Hervey Bay For Sale |
| Phone: (07) 4124 8687 - Mobile: 0422 297 925 |
|
sprake real estate since 1938 |
|
|
| R. G. Sprake & Co. Real Estate at it's Best! | ||
| R. G. Sprake & Co. | ||
| Hervey Bay Office: | Ph: 07 41246200 | Email Hervey Bay Office |
| Maryborough Office: | Ph: 07 41212466 | Email Maryborough Office |
| sprake | Web Sites | "CLICK HERE" |
