Gosses Bluff (or Gosse's Bluff) is thought to be the eroded remnant of an
impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
.
[
][
] Known as Tnorala to the
Western Arrernte
Arrernte or Aranda (; ) or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are A ...
people of the surrounding region, it is located in the southern
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
, near the centre of Australia, about west of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
and about to the northeast of
Uluru
Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially Gazette#Gazette as a verb, gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone geological formation, formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the ...
(Ayers Rock). It was named by
Ernest Giles
William Ernest Powell Giles (20 July 1835 – 13 November 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led five major expeditions to parts of South Australia and Western Australia.
Early life
Ernest Giles was born in Bris ...
in 1872 after Australian explorer
William Gosse William Gosse may refer to:
*William Gosse (explorer) (1842-1881), Australian explorer
*William Gosse (surgeon), his father, medical practitioner in South Australia
* William Gosse (MP) for Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)
Bridgwater was ...
's brother Henry, who was a member of William's expedition.
Formation
![Gosse Bluff from Tylers Pass](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Gosse_Bluff_from_Tylers_Pass.jpg)
The original crater is thought to have been formed by the impact of an
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
or
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
approximately 142.5 ± 0.8 million years ago,
[
] in the earliest
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
, very close to the
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
-
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
boundary. The original crater rim has been estimated at about in diameter, but this has been eroded away. The diameter, high crater-like feature,
now exposed, is interpreted as the eroded relic of the crater's central uplift. The impact origin of this topographic feature was first proposed in the 1960s, the strongest evidence coming from the abundance of
shatter cone
Shatter cones are rare geological features that are only known to form in the bedrock beneath meteorite impact craters or underground nuclear explosions. They are evidence that the rock has been subjected to a shock with pressures in the rang ...
s.
[
] In the past the crater has been the target of petroleum exploration, and two abandoned exploration wells lie near its centre.
Cultural significance
The site is known as Tnorala to the
Aboriginal people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of the
Western Arrernte
Arrernte or Aranda (; ) or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are A ...
language group, and is a
sacred place
Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bless ...
. It is now located in the Tnorala Conservation Reserve. A Western Arrernte story attributes its origins to a cosmic impact: in the
Dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Ja ...
, a group of celestial women were dancing as stars in the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
. One of the women grew tired and placed her baby in a wooden basket, or turna (also known as a
coolamon). As the women continued dancing, the basket fell and plunged into the earth. The baby fell to the earth and forced the rocks upward, forming the circular mountain range. The baby's parents, the evening and
morning star
Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to:
Astronomy
* Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise
** See also Venus in culture
* Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...
, continue to search for their baby to this day. The turna can be seen in the sky as the constellation
Corona Australis
Corona Australis is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its Latin name means "southern crown", and it is the southern counterpart of Corona Borealis, the northern crown. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-centu ...
.
[
]
See also
* List of impact craters in Australia
This list includes all 27 confirmed impact craters in Australia as listed in the Earth Impact Database.Bevan, Alex. and Ken McNamara (2009) ''Australia's meteorite craters'' Welshpool, W. A. : Western Australian Museum, 2nd ed. (pbk.) and oth ...
References
External links
Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve
Nice photo of Gosse Bluff ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand 'Earth from above with Fujifilm and UNESCO'
{{Impact cratering on Earth
Impact craters of the Northern Territory
Cretaceous impact craters
Early Cretaceous Australia