Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol. 71 - Fading Pillars In The Sea (The Twelve Apostles Of Australia)

in #steemstem6 years ago (edited)

Hello to all! After being absent from blogging, I decided to make a come back, or at least try to....

Did you miss the weird phenomenon series? Because today I got you another amazing place on this planet where nature's imagination has sculpted a spectacular and awe inspiring landscape after years and years of hard work!

Wanna know where this place is?

I'll give you a hint:

@terrylovejoy lives there...

What?!

You don't know our great astro-photographer?

Come on, I'll give you another hint:

There are lots of spiders in that country!

Still not a clue?

You're really disappointing me now, guys.

How about a third hint:

Kangaroos and koalas live there!

Austria?!

You seriously suck at geography

-no offense!

For this episode we're travelling to AUSTRALIA.

Along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, you can find the Port Campbell National Park. A place in the south-eastern edge of the country, the park is rich in sights that will take your breath away. The London Arch, a "natural bridge" into the sea that collapsed and left a lonely arc standing tall over the waves, the Loch Ard Gorge, the cliffs of the Gibson Steps and the famous sinkhole, the Grotto are among the fascinating attractions for visitors. [1, 6]

Another attraction, this time at sea, is the spectacular stacks that form the "creed" of the Twelve Apostles!



Image: source, wikimedia - credits, Richard Mikalsen - license, cc by-sa 3.0


No, this is not the worshiping place of another cult! It is just the result of nature's creativity and cruelty combined.

The Southern or Antarctic Ocean has been carving out the rich in limestone rocks and created those beautiful formations as high as 50 meters that are popping out in the sea. For as far as 17 km along the Shipwreck Coast, you can watch those sea stacks rising up through the waves and offering a scenic view for nature lovers and photographers to enjoy! [1, 6]

How it all started

Twenty million years ago, the ocean waves and the wind started eating up the cliffs of the south-eastern shores. The cliffs made of mudstone, clay and limestone were susceptible to erosion and the variety in the soil mixture explains the "abnormalities" in the shape of the pillars. With the clay and mudstone being less dense than limestone, it is only natural that these layers were removed sooner than limestone. [1, 6]

Initially, the water had carved out caves in the cliff walls, but over thousands and thousands of years the caves turned into arcs and the arcs finally collapsed, leaving behind what are today known as the Twelve Apostles. It is only amazing to think of how sneaky the ocean water can be, as it beats against the cliffs and slowly pierces through them, surrounds several pieces of land and chops them off chunk after chunk. It is estimated that the columns lose 2 cm on a yearly basis, so just imagine how much patience and persistence it took for those rocks to be sculpted like that! [1, 6]

Not always that pious

The pillars were formerly called the Sow and Piglets, with Muttonbird Island being the Sow and the pigs... oh well, these were the Apostles. [1, 6]

And not twelve in number

Although called twelve, the formations were only nine and that until 2005. On July 3rd, one of the columns collapsed, narrowing the number down to eight. And four years later, in 2009, another stack falls down and is mistaken for an Apostle, but it turned out it was one of the tree stacks from the Three Sisters formation nearby. [1, 3, 6]



Image: source, wikipedia - credits, Michael J Fromholtz - license, cc by-sa 4.0


Perhaps thirteen if you add their cousins, the... drowned apostles!

Sea stacks are common formations, although remarkable and unique in the way the forces of air and water create them, they are not a rare occurrence. What is indeed rare in this occasion is the discovery of five underwater pillars, just 12 kilometers farther from the Twelve Apostles. [2, 4, 7]

Discovered accidentally, during an attempt to map the reef floor and study the marine life of the southern shores, those stacks live 50 meters below the surface, are a lot shorter than those along the coast (4-6 meters high) and date as much as 60,000 years back! Although they should have vanished by now, the pillars are still preserved safely beneath the ocean waters surprising scientists with their strong "survival instinct"! [2, 4, 7]

It is believed that they are made out of the same limestone rocks with their Twelve Apostle "cousins", but their formation must have begun when the sea levels started to rise, so they were safely "preserved" under the water, since they were not exposed to erosion by winds and waves. [2, 4, 7]

Planning a trip there?

You can check the official website for the Great Ocean Road and learn more. In there you'll find contact information for the Visitor Center as well.

Here is a short audiovisual re-cap



Erosion is a routine

Every day wind and water carve up those limestone formations. The landscape keeps changing, shifting from one look to another. Inevitably, chunks of rocks will fall down, pillars will disappear into the waters and arcs will drop their bridges, leaving previously connected chunks of land alone and stranded. The place is evolving, just like all of us are, it's a sign that it's alive and a "slave" to the sneakiest and most patient force on the planet... time!

Wanna have a taste of what the place looked like before various formations around the area collapsed?

Go check this youtube video



Image: source, maxpixel - license, public domain



References

[1] wikipedia.org
[2] abc.net.au
[3] news.com.au
[4] cnbc.com
[5] visit12apostles
[6] greatoceanroadmelbournetours.com.au
[7] smh.com.au

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PS: Don't forget that @steemstem has now got a witness running, the @stem.witness! We would really appreciate your vote. And you can always check out our app, steemstem.io!

Thank you so much for your time!

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!


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Hi @Ruth-girl the Great Ocean Road is such a wonderful trip, and a great way to drive from Melbourne to Adelaide if you're not in a hurry. (Incidentally, Melbourne has a very large Greek population).

Like you say The Twelve Apostles is a great place to see weather erosion on a human timescale. As a cool project it would be interesting to stitch together a timelapse of the area taken from the lookout over years/decades. Would be pretty easy to find images - just scour the internet/social media.

Btw...thanks to the Shoutout!

Hey @terrylovejoy! I was expecting you'd have seen this place and wanted to hear your comments! So the photos are not exaggerating, are they?

So far, the only time lapses I found were of the same day, but there are photos to show how much the place has changed, it is really amazing to see it and think about how everything on this planet keeps shifting shapes.

You're welcome!

Actually, I'm stretching my memory a little now, but even though it was overcast when I was there it was still very dramatic as it came into view. I need to get down there again soon, although it's a 3 day drive from where I live :(

From where I live, it's a 1 day flight... let's see who gets there first 😜

3 days is a long time, but perhaps if you combine this trip with other places you haven't visited, it could worth it. And with good company it would totally worth it!

Good idea! There are definitely a lot of places on the way, like Siding Spring Observatory, Parkes, Snowy Mountains, etc.

Great article again Ruth! :)

But in Australia every small animal wants to kill you 😢

Thanks!!

I know it's dangerous to wander around Australia,but it's so beautiful it is hard to resist visiting...

I've forgot you're that spider lady, so I guess that you are not afraid of anything 😜

Hehe! That's right! 🤣

ΤΙ όμορφα που είναι!!! Θέλω να παωωωωωω

Να κλεισουμε γκρουπακι με κοινωνικο τουρισμο καλεεεεε! :P

eimai mesaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! :PPPPPPPPPP

Your post has been read and you did great! You received a 10.0% upvote from us for your post since you are not yet a member of the geopolis community.
You are always welcome to join us and get more recognition for your posts. You can find more information about geopolis here or join our Discord server.

Thank you very much! :)

Looks like an epic place to visit.
Nature always provides us with the best view all around the world.

Nature is the greatest artist of all, I think! :)

Meteora are still unbeatable ;)

Oooh they are fascinating, it's been years since I visited the place, but the whole atmosphere is just amazing!

And how come I never thought of featuring them here?! 🤔
Thanks for reminding me of it!

Nature must really be an artist. This phenomenon looks like it was carefully sculpted by some unknown forces, lol

"the... drowned apostles!" Really got me laughing hard.

Did you miss the weird phenomenon series?

I; for one; missed the series much.

Nice one Ruthie

I laughed when I read about the "drowned" apostles too, Sammy!! 🤣🤣

I'll try to write more often, but I have so many things on my mind that it's hard to stay concentrated and blog on Steemit as often as I used to.

Thanks for dropping by, my friend! 😘

I have been there! IT is breathtakingly beautiful!

Oooh! Now you made me even more jealous!!

τι κανεις Ruthie....με τρομαζει το μερος...δε ξερω γιατι...δε ξερω τι συνειρμους δημιουργει η εικονα στο υποσυνειδητο μου,αλλα το τοπιο μου προκαλει θλιψη και με τρομαζει... μου θυμιζει το inception,εκεινη τη σκηνη που δειχνει να γκρεμιζονται κτιρια και να χανονται στη θαλασσα...με μελαγχολησες ρε γαμωτη

Αααα! Ένα δίκιο το 'χεις!! Είναι κι η μουσική του Zimmer απίστευτα ατμοσφαιρική, σε καταβάλλει...

I actually was curious what natural sighting you would come up with next! It's an interesting feature and also very nicely written. Perhaps in stead of Steem meetups that seem to be everywhere, we should have Steem Excursions, and visit places like this :D

Thank you!! I totally agree! We have to organize trips like that :

"Book a ticket with Steem Tours and experience the fierce beauty of nature with other steemians! Payments in SBD or Steem " :P

Thanks for bringing unique and historic geographical structures to our knowledge. I have no idea such things existed. Now, I am better informed. Thanks.

Thank you for reading @olamseu! :)

This coast line is so breath-taking! I can't get over those standing stones and that shoreline, it truly does look to be the work of some unknown rather large artist somewhere in the cosmos.

Maybe the giants are so large that their movements take a millennia and so we can't see them working but get to partake of their handy work :)

I like your version of the story! Reminds me of some past stories I used to write and myths I used to read as a child...



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Such a breathtaking view! I can imagine myself going there with my family... God is so amazing!

I hope you get to go there some day! It looks so amazing!

I will maybe next year :)

Hi @ruth-girl!

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Your UA account score is currently 5.020 which ranks you at #1021 across all Steem accounts.
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In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 285 contributions, your post is ranked at #32.

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This is so breathtaking! Thanks for posting this, nature deserves to be post on social medias to give them a chance to see their beauty!

Thank you!

This is great!