The Dolerite Columns coastline of southern Tasmania comprises spectacular rock columns that are up to 300 meters from sea level. The geologists call these rocks “dolerites”, due to their distinctive elongated shape and hexagonal columns. The majestic dolerite columns of mother nature were probably formed in the Jurassic period, somewhere 185 million years ago, during a massive volcanic event that covered up to a third of Tasmania. The doleritic clifts surpass 100 m in topography above the sea along much of Tasmania’s southern and eastern coast, and some singular columns occur as giant “totem poles” standing in the sea.
Dolerite Columns are created when molten rocks pushed up from the deep underbelly of the earth cool rapidly and crystallize to form trifling visible crystals in the rock. However, when the rate of cooling is just right, the rocks tend to shrink in volume, because of the creation of cracks.
Thus, these cracks let the rocks in the interior cool, resulting in additional cracks. In the end, you get a big block of rock with long vertical and symmetrical cracks, creating 5 to 6-sided columns. It can be just a few centimeters to over quite a lot of meters in diameter. The columns are actually a part of a continuous formation over 4,000 km long, extending from Australia through Tasmania and into Antarctica. The beautiful columnar rocks are not uncommon, as hundreds of recognized localities throughout the world are where you can find them. Moreover, some of these locations are very famous, such as The Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, The Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Los Organos in Spain, and Fingal’s Cave in Scotland.
The spectacular formations of Dolerite Columns, like these in Tasmania, make him a glorious tourist destination. Dolerites are created when molten rocks pushed up from the deep underbelly of the earth cool rapidly and crystallize to form trifling, visible crystals in the rock.
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