The jagged rock face of the gorge.

A close up of the patterns formed by distortion of the earth’s surface, set in stone for all to see.

Rock crevices with hardly any soil – yet hardy trees and shrubs somehow manage to survive.

Again, a close up of the rock formations from the previous picture.

So called ripple rock on the edge of this rock pool in Arkaroola”s Barrarina Gorge.

As mentioned in the previous post, this is beach sand that’s been turned to stone millions of years ago, then over millions more, the sea floor has been twisted and buckled into the positions found today.

Throughout the gorge there’s ample evidence of another geological activity.

Everywhere there’s clearly defined layers or bands of rock.

The northern part of the Flinders Ranges is quite different in make-up to the rest of the ranges to the south.

Here over a billion years ago were very high mountains where erosion was taking place. The eroded material was laid down on the sea floor and eventually turned to stone.

Today those layers are the band we see here, again subjected to massive pressures on the earth’s surface that formed the new ranges 500 to 700 millions ago.

If you want to see more pictures of Barrarina Gorge head on over to the Overflow section which can be found in the headings along the top of this page.

Barrarina Gorge in the northern Flinders Ranges is one of those places created by untold amounts of rushing water over countless centuries.

The water has gradually cut a twisting ravine deep into a mountain to reveal the geological events on earth over many millions of years.

The height of the walls of Barrarina Gorge are impressive.

They too have a story to tell.

It’s hard to imagine this sheet of rock, pointing straight to the sky, was once the sea floor complete with all the ripples and swirls of sand you’d find on a shallow beach today.

Because the walls are so high, the winter sun does not light up the floor of Barrarina Gorge until late in the morning.

This is a bit of a handicap for taking good photos, but not impossible.

I had to abandon the tripod and there were a few apprehensive moments carrying an expensive camera and lens while teetering over a rock pool, but well worth the effort