Bungle Bungle Range

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Palms in one of the many canyons.
The Bungles Bungles

Bungle Bungle Range is the landform that is the major component of the Purnululu National Park in Western Australia - it is often used as a synonym for the national park area.

The traditional human inhabitants of the area are the Kitja peoples.[1]

The origin of the landscape

The distinctive beehive-shaped towers 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 into the Ord Basin 375 to 350 million years ago, when active faults were altering the landscape. The combined effects of wind from the Tanami Desert and rainfall over millions of years shaped the domes. Weathering also helped create this marvel. Water seeps into the rock, and at night it expands as it gets colder. This creates small cracks which eventually wears out the rocks.

A 7 km diameter circular topographic feature is clearly visible on satellite images of the Bungle Bungle Range (Google Maps image). It is believed that this feature is the eroded remnant of a very ancient meteorite impact crater and is known as the Piccaninny impact structure.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ausanthrop - Australian Aboriginal tribal database". 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-29. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Purnululu National Park.

Coordinates: 17°25′17″S 128°26′42″E / 17.4214°S 128.4449°E / -17.4214; 128.4449


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