Mount Chambers Gorge (alternative name: Marlawadinha Inbiri) is a

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in the locality of Wertaloona about north-east of

Blinman Blinman is a locality incorporating two towns located in the Australian state of South Australia within the Flinders Ranges about north of the state capital of Adelaide. It is very small but has the claim of being the highest surveyed town in S ...

in the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabi ...

. Although on private land, they are a tourist attraction near to the road between Blinman and Balcanoona,

Gammon Ranges National Park The Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park is a protected area in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, immediately south-west of and adjacent to the Arkaroola Protection Area. They encompass some of the most rugged and spectacular country ...

. They are part of the Wearing Hills.Glovebox Guide - ''The Flinders Ranges'',

Australian Geographic Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclop ...

, 2000, p135, Mount Chambers Gorge winds through the Wearing Hills toward

Lake Frome Lake Frome / Munda is a large endorheic lake in the Australian state of South Australia to the east of the Northern Flinders Ranges. It is a large, shallow, unvegetated salt pan, long and wide, lying mostly below sea level and having a total s ...

. There is usually water in the bed of the creek, although less in recent years than formerly; while it is brackish it can be used by campers (given appropriate treatment). The upper part of the Gorge is accessible to most vehicles while the lower parts are now closed to all but foot traffic and can no longer be accessed by four-wheel-drive. There is signage at the car park indicating the closure of the lower gorge to vehicle traffic.

Mount Chambers Chasm

The upper part of Mount Chambers is composed of a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

that is resistant to erosion. The resistance of the limestone and the greater erodibility of the underlying rock has resulted in the upper part of the

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

being mostly surrounded by precipitous walls. The chasm extends about 50 metres across the width of the Mount Chambers mesa near its eastern end. The top of the chasm is about three metres wide at the south-eastern end and two metres at the north-western end. It seems that the eastern end of the mountain has somehow moved away from the remainder. The top of the chasm is apparently wider than the bottom, indicating some hinging of the end of the mountain. The bottom of the chasm is covered with rubble and soil that has fallen from above. Some boulders have fallen only a part of the way down and have bridged between the two walls. The depth of the chasm, from the top to the rubble on the bottom, is around ten to fifteen metres. It is possible, with great care, but without any special climbing gear, to climb down over some of the bridging boulders to the base of the chasm. There is a section near the centre of the chasm where a V shaped set of fractures comes off the chasm. The bridging boulders in this area seem to provide the only path from top to bottom.

References

External links

Chambers Gorge, Flinders Ranges - South Australian History
*http://ramblingsdc.net/Australia/Chambers.html Mount Chambers Chasm Flinders Ranges Mountains of South Australia Far North (South Australia) {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub