Purnululu National Park - the Bungle Bungles 2
Another photo of the Bungle Bungles a little bit closer to.
The Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park, Western Australia, stands 200 to 300 metres above a woodland and grass-covered plain. There are steep cliffs on the western face. Elsewhere the range is cut by deep gullies and breaks up into complex areas of ridges and domes, with prominent orange and black or grey bands as in the photo.
The distinctive beehive-shaped towers of the Bungle Bungle Range are made up of sandstones and conglomerates (rocks composed mainly of pebbles and boulders and cemented together by finer material). These sedimentary formations were deposited 375 to 350 million years ago,.
To the north and west of what is now the Bungle Bungle Range, uplift occurred. Most of the rocks in the Bungle Bungle Range were formed from sand deposited further from the highlands by lower-energy braided rivers flowing across broad plains in open valleys. As more sand accumulated, the older channels consolidated to form sandstone.
The distinctive beehive-shaped landforms seen today have been produced by uplift and erosion during the last 20 million years.
One of the most obvious features of the sandstones is the alternating orange and black or grey banding. The darker bands are on the more permeable layers of rock (which means water is able to move through them with relative ease). They allow moisture to seep through to the rock surface, promoting a dark blue-green algal growth.
The less permeable layers in between are covered with a patina of iron and manganese staining, creating the orange bands. These outer coatings (the rock beneath is a whitish colour) help to protect the lower parts of the towers from erosion. (From www2.dec.wa.gov.au/component/option,com_hotproperty/task,...)
Purnululu National Park - the Bungle Bungles 2
Another photo of the Bungle Bungles a little bit closer to.
The Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park, Western Australia, stands 200 to 300 metres above a woodland and grass-covered plain. There are steep cliffs on the western face. Elsewhere the range is cut by deep gullies and breaks up into complex areas of ridges and domes, with prominent orange and black or grey bands as in the photo.
The distinctive beehive-shaped towers of the Bungle Bungle Range are made up of sandstones and conglomerates (rocks composed mainly of pebbles and boulders and cemented together by finer material). These sedimentary formations were deposited 375 to 350 million years ago,.
To the north and west of what is now the Bungle Bungle Range, uplift occurred. Most of the rocks in the Bungle Bungle Range were formed from sand deposited further from the highlands by lower-energy braided rivers flowing across broad plains in open valleys. As more sand accumulated, the older channels consolidated to form sandstone.
The distinctive beehive-shaped landforms seen today have been produced by uplift and erosion during the last 20 million years.
One of the most obvious features of the sandstones is the alternating orange and black or grey banding. The darker bands are on the more permeable layers of rock (which means water is able to move through them with relative ease). They allow moisture to seep through to the rock surface, promoting a dark blue-green algal growth.
The less permeable layers in between are covered with a patina of iron and manganese staining, creating the orange bands. These outer coatings (the rock beneath is a whitish colour) help to protect the lower parts of the towers from erosion. (From www2.dec.wa.gov.au/component/option,com_hotproperty/task,...)