Canal Rocks is a series of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

rocks in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

just off the coast situated approximately south of

Yallingup Yallingup is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, south of Perth. Yallingup is a popular tourist destination because of its beaches and limestone caves, and proximity to Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. History and industry Y ...

in the

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

name for this place is Winjee Sam. The rock formation takes its name from the narrow channel between the rocks that has formed from the coastal waters eroding the granite-

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

away over time. The rocks that make up the canals are part of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, or Leeuwin complex. The rocks that make up the feature consist of hornblende-biotite monzogranite gneiss that are medium to coarse-grained and moderately foliated containing minerals such as

perthite Perthite is used to describe an intergrowth of two feldspars: a host grain of potassium-rich alkali feldspar (near K-feldspar, KAlSi3O8, in composition) includes exsolved lamellae or irregular intergrowths of sodic alkali feldspar (near albite, Na ...

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

, hornblende with accessory biotite, opaques, apatite, and zircon. The original rock that underwent medium metamorphism was granite. The estimated age of crystallisation is 702 ± 7 million years. The

Cape to Cape Track The Cape to Cape Walk Track is a long-distance walk trail located in the far south-west corner of Western Australia, south of Perth. It meanders along the whole length of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, which forms the backbone of the Leeuwin ...

passes near the lookout over the rocks. Facilities at the site include a car park, boat ramp, finger jetty and a walkway to access the closest rock formation. A small, unpatrolled beach is found to the lee-side of the rocks with low to subtidal sand and patchy rock reefs. Canal Rocks Walkway from above

The road through to the site, which was already a popular fishing and recreational area, was constructed in 1907 from Caves Road. A man went missing when

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

alone off the rocks in 2010. A fisherman drowned when fishing off the rocks in 2014; his body was never recovered but he is thought to have been washed from the rocks by a freak wave.

References

{{coord, 33.668710, S, 114.994974, E, display=title Rock formations of Western Australia Yallingup, Western Australia Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park