Organ Pipes National Park: Part 2

Organ Pipes close up

A photograph, and a written description of the Organ Pipes, an explanation of how they were formed, and an explanation about why they are considered so special a National Park had to be created.

 

The Organ Pipes are a set of basalt columns that are as straight and regular as regular pipes and it is the central feature of the park. They were formed a million years ago when a large lava flow which was about 70 metres thick spread over the plains from nearby volcano hills. A surface crust was formed and the lava beneath slowly cooled down and began to join together.  Vertical cracks on the surface began to develop and as the lava continued to get harder, the cracks got longer in length until the basaltic mass was divided into columns. Over the next million years, Jacksons Creek cut a deep valley through the basalt layer to expose the formation known as the "organ pipes".

They were considered so special that a National Park had to be created because environmentalists wanted to preserve the remaining flora, fauna and the unusual basalt formations along Jacksons Creek because the area was beginning to be settled in.