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Mega-Geology-Landscope-2021.Pdf MEGA GEOLOGY Western Australia’s giant landforms Millions of years before Aboriginal peoples roamed the land of Western Australia, earth movements buckled and faulted rocks, causing them to rise and lower, creating giant landforms. Some of our favourite natural areas such as the Stirling Range and Karijini have an incredible geological history and significance. by Professor Ross Dowling AM and Mike Freeman ome 200 million years ago the supercontinent Pangaea broke into two land masses—Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. Australia was part of the latter supercontinent, known Sgeologically for being ‘old, flat and red’. In the west, former mountain ranges have been eroded with the sediments creating large flat areas, or being washed into basins on the edge of the continent. Delve deeper and we find the landscapes, landforms and rocks of Western Australia show remarkable diversity and significance. WA’s national parks contain many different geological provinces as well as many of the State’s giant landforms. Some examples are captured in the national parks of Mount Augustus, Karijini, Stirling Range and Cape Range. MOUNT AUGUSTUS at the time of the collision and finally of much of these layers, but left a prominent ceasing around 900 million years ago. mountain consisting mostly of the river- 1109 kilometres from Perth, After the collision, at about 1600 deposited sand named the Mount Augustus 474 kilometres from Carnarvon million years, rivers deposited sands and Sandstone. This is Mount Augustus, a Mount Augustus (Burringurrah) is in conglomerate eroded off the cratons prominent elongate inselberg (German an area between two large and old blocks and later the ocean flooded the area and for ‘island mountain’), a peak rising to an of the Earth’s crust, termed cratons, deposited more sand with layers of mud altitude of 1105 metres about 700 metres which form the nucleus of the continent. and volcanic lavas. Uplift resulted in erosion above the surrounding landscape. The southern Yilgarn Craton contains rare mineral grains up to 4400 million years old, the oldest parts of Earth, and were formed a mere 100 million years—just Mount Augustus and the boy called Burringurrah after the solar system formed from the Mount Augustus and surrounds are the traditional lands of the Wajarri people. original solar nebula. The northern Pilbara Burringurrah is the Wajarri name for Mount Augustus. In times of plenty, the Wajarri Craton contains fossil stromatelites, the people would roam over a wide area of the Gascoyne. In times of drought, they would oldest proven forms of life on Earth dated return to areas where water was available, such as the natural springs along the base of at 3450 million years old. The Yilgarn Mount Augustus. Aboriginal occupation is evident by engravings on rock walls at Mundee, Craton and the Pilbara Craton collided, Ooramboo and Beedoboondu visitor sites, and numerous stone tools discovered in these starting about 2200 million years ago areas. Burringurrah continues to be a significant site for the Wajarri people. continuing to about 1800 million years According to the Wajarri Dreamtime story, Burringurrah was undergoing his initiation ago, producing a 250-kilometre-wide area into manhood. The rigours of this process so distressed him that he ran away, thereby called the Capricorn Orogen. breaking Aboriginal law. Tribesmen pursued the boy, finally catching up with him and The Orogen was then affected by spearing him in the upper right leg as his punishment. Burringurrah fell to the ground; many periods of earth movements that the spearhead broke from its shaft and protruded from his leg. The boy tried to crawl folded, buckled and faulted the rocks, away but was hit with a mulgurrah (fighting stick). Burringurrah collapsed and died, lowering and raising them up — it was lying on his belly with his left leg bent up beside his body. You can see his final resting a zone of ongoing earth activity starting pose when you approach Mount Augustus from the south. The geological fracture lines at the western end of the inselberg indicate the wounds inflicted by the mulgurrah. Look for the spear stump in his leg that today is called Edney’s Lookout. Previous page Main Hamersley Range, Karijini National Park. Above Mount Augustus (Burringurrah). Photos – David Bettini Right Moon setting over Burringurrah. Photo – Janine Guenther 20 LANDSCOPE KARIJINI it is the highest mountain in Western rich rocks are thought by most geologists Australia. to have been deposited in response to 1250 kilometres from Perth, In an Aboriginal Dreamtime story, the Great Oxidation Event, the greatest 650 kilometres from Exmouth Barrimirndi was a Warlu, or giant sea environmental change arguably the Earth Karijini National Park is located in serpent, who emerged from the sea at has ever experienced, when organisms the Hamersley Range area of the rugged Coral Bay. He meandered his way across started to enrich the atmosphere with sedimentary Hamersley Basin, which lies the land, forming waterways as he went. oxygen. However, since deposition of the south of and covers part of the granite As the legend goes, Barrimirndi became sediments, the region has been little- and greenstone-based Pilbara Craton. angry with two boys who cooked and affected by earth movements except The range extends 300 kilometres east- ate a parrot. Barrimirndi followed the being uplifted, and so the sedimentary west and comprises mostly horizontal scent of the singed feathers in search layering is still horizontal. layers of red, iron-rich rocks dissected by of the boys. Travelling underground, he deep gorges affording spectacular rugged wove his way up the river now known as scenery in ancient geological formations. the Fortescue, cutting gorges and rivers The area has been relatively stable for into the landscape. Sometimes he broke two billion years and is important for its through the surface to check for the scent, minerals, particularly iron ore. After 1960, creating a waterhole before disappearing large iron mines were developed at Mount ● Karijini National Park underground again. ● Mount Augustus National Park Tom Price, Mount Newman, Paraburdoo, While the rocks are regarded as Pannawonica, and other sites. By the being old, they are only about half the ● PERTH early 1990s the range accounted for more age of the Earth, having been deposited than 90 per cent of Australia’s iron ore between about 2800 million years ago production, which is nearly 40 per cent of and 2200 million years ago. They were the global demand for iron and steel. laid down on the Pilbara Craton, mostly In the national park, mountains and in shallow seas. Geologically they contain escarpments rise out of the valleys. The the world’s best-preserved sequence of high plateau is dissected by breathtaking volcanic and sedimentary deposits of gorges, and stony, tree-lined watercourses Archean to Proterozoic age. The iron- wind their way over the dusty plain. Erosion has slowly carved this landscape. There are many beautiful gorges and sites to visit (see ‘Rocking the patterns’ on page Above Fortescue Falls, Karijini National Park. 36) including Dales Gorge with Fortescue Photo – Guy Skillen Falls, one of a number of permanent waterfall in the park. It cascades more Above right Hamersley Range viewed from than 20 metres down a series of natural Mount Meharry. Photo – Cliff Winfield rock steps before finishing in a large, picturesque pool. Also within the national Right Dales Gorge, Karijini National Park. park is Mount Meharry; at 1249 metres Photo – Marie Lochman LANDSCOPE 21 STIRLING RANGE to earth-movements and heating that metamorphosed the sedimentary rocks, 400 kilometres from Perth, converting some of the shales to slates 95 kilometres from Albany and sandstones to quartzite. This occured The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff in when the range was thrust upwards to the south of the State stretches for its present elevation. The quartzite is 65 kilometres from east to west as a series tough and resists erosion and is the rock of rugged ranges and isolated peaks. The that preserves the highest peaks. The range is home to Bluff Knoll or Bular Mial, geological setting is enigmatic and still not the tallest peak, standing at 1095 metres clearly understood. The Stirling Range above sea level and a place where the rocks sit on Yilgarn Craton rocks, which local Menang people believe the spirits of are at least 500 million years older, and are Noongar people go after death. Several on the northern margin of the Albany- other peaks rise to between 700 metres Fraser Orogen, the site of a collision and 950 metres. The area is within the between two continental plates between Stirling Range National Park, originally 1300 and 1100 million years ago. There are gazetted in 1916. suggestions similar rocks occur in India as The bedrock of the Stirling Range the Indian subplate once was connected to consists of quartzite, sandstone, shale the west coast of Australia that split apart and slate. These were sediments during one of the Gondwanan break-ups deposited in a sea possibly as early as about 130 million years ago. 2000 million years ago. Later, at about When first upthrust, the range was 1140 million years they were subjected originally much higher than it is today. The large amount of erosion that removed much of the former range has carved the Top left Talyuberlup Peak, Stirling Range present range into various spectacular National Park. Photo – Jiri Lochman formations, especially on the craggy higher peaks. Being so high and surrounded by Left White mountain myrtle (Hypocalymma lowlands between 150 metres and phillipssii). 250 metres altitude, they create a climate Photo – Ann Cochrane of their own and, along with that, there is a huge diversity of more than 1000 species Below View from the top of Bluff Knoll, Stirling Range National Park.
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