The Pinnacles (aka the Seven Sisters) are a series of seven volcanic
cinder cone
A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...
s on the
Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...
, near
Yungaburra, Queensland
Yungaburra is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yungaburra had a population of 1,239 people.
Geography
Yungaburra is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland.
The land ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. They were formed more than 350 000 years ago.
The vents have an overall southwest-northeast alignment, which suggests that the ascending magma utilised a pre-existing fracture within the earth's crust.
Several of the craters are breached to the southeast, possibly due to the prevailing southeast winds blowing ash and
scoria
Scoria is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock that was ejected from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains or clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) ''G ...
to the northwest and so building the cones more to that side. Parts of the rocky
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
flows are still densely forested and can be seen surrounding the
Curtain Fig Tree
Curtain Fig Tree is a heritage-listed tree at Curtain Fig Tree Road, Yungaburra, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the largest trees in Tropical North Queensland, Australia, and one of the best known attractions on the ...
.
See also
*
Lake Barrine
Lake Barrine is a freshwater lake on the eastern parts of Atherton Tableland in the locality of Lake Barrine, in the Tablelands Region of Far North Queensland, Australia, close to Lake Eacham. The lake and surrounds are protected within th ...
*
Lake Eacham (Yidyam)
*
Lake Tinaroo
Lake Tinaroo is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivis ...
*
Mount Hypipamee Crater
The Mount Hypipamee Crater, also known as The Crater is a huge diatreme located south-east of Herberton on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is 61 metres in diameter and 82 metres deep.
It was first discove ...
References
External links
The Seven Sisters on Google Earth
Landforms of Far North Queensland
Volcanoes of Queensland
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