Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Chillagoe Natural Features.

The Chillagoe area has an abundance of Natural Geologic Formations that have formed over 100's of millions of years. Most of this area was once under a shallow sea and all the limestone formations were once coral formations. During the Cave Tours that we participated in, marine fossils are clearly evident in the cave walls.

Two unusual Native Deciduous Trees are found among the limestone outcrops at Balancing Rocks. The tree on the left with the bulbous trunk is a Kurrajong and on the right is a Helicopter Tree, this is named after the shape of the seeds that drop with two leaves similar to the blades of a helicopter. The trunk of the Helicopter Tree is a shiny golden colour.

Noel at Balancing Rocks.

Judy at Balancing Rocks

Three more Helicopter Trees near Balancing Rocks.

Another unusual rock formation at Balancing Rocks.

One of the Stalactite formations in The Royal Arch Caves, some say this resembles an elephant!

The limestone rock outcrop that house The Royal Arch Caves. It took us 1.5 hours to travel through this cave system of very large caverns. The cave system was not electrically lit, this proved difficult for photography.

This Aboriginal Art is located at Mungana, about 12 km from Chillagoe. A small town and a mine once existed at Mungana.

The Archways is a self guided tour area and is also located at Mungana. This is well worth a wander around.

The Archways limestone.

More from The Archways. Jude is holding this formation from slipping.

Sunlight entering a cavern at The Archways.

Looking towards The Smelter Smoke Stack from The Trezkinn Caves.

The Trezkinn Cave is all lit electrically, I managed some reasonable photographs here.

The Stalactites are quite spectacular in The Trezkinn Cave.

The camera was firing non stop in The Trezkinn Cave.

Still more.

Still more.

That's it folks!

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