Other rock FORMATIONS in Queensland
Glass house mounatains
There are many strange rock formations in Queensland, one of these is the Glass House Mountains (top left). The Glass House Mountains dominate the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands and are volcanic plugs located a 30 minute drive from Brisbane (Sunshine Coast, 2015). These series of plugs are made of rhyolite and trachyte which have formed in volcanoes that have worn away over millions of years (Sunshine Coast, 2015). The wearing away of the rock formed the strange rock formations (Sunshine Coast, 2015).
CARNARVON GORGE
In Australia, there are many ravines and gorges that run throughout the island. One of these is the Carnarvon Gorge (top right). The Gorge mainly consists of sandstone created in the early Jurassic age (Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, 2010). The sandstone has work away leaving the sandstone to a steep fractured slope (Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, 2010). The gorge is located at the head of the Maranoa River and drains into the Darling-Marry Basin (Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, 2010).
Chillagoe ANCIENT CORAL REEF
The Northern Queensland town of Chillagoe is home to over 200 people and home to an ancient coral reef (bottom left (Tropical Tablelands Tourism, 2015). The ancient coral reef is now a formation of over 500 caves which are heavily scattered with stalactites and stalagmites (Tropical Tablelands Tourism, 2015). The ends of the rocks are covered in mineral and marble deposits which are left after volcanic activity (Tropical Tablelands Tourism, 2015).
Girraween national park
At Queensland’s southern border there is a national park that is filled with strange rock formations, one of these is the Stanthorpe Granite (bottom right) (Ryan & Ryan, 2009). The Stanthorpe granite stretches a distance of over 250 kilometres (Ryan & Ryan, 2009). The granite formations in decreasing order consist of potassium feldspar, plagioclase feldspar, quartz, biotite mica and hornblende (Ryan & Ryan, 2009). The Stanthorpe Granite formed 240 million years ago but came into current form 190 million years ago (Ryan & Ryan, 2009).