Remarkable Rocks are remarkable because of their geology. And they are rather impressive to look at, which causes people like me to remark on them.
500 million years of slow erosion has continually shaped and reshaped the site in one of Mom Nature’s evolving sculptures.
Carved by the continuous wind, rain, and nearby sea salt, the Ordovician granite was exposed when the supercontinent Gondwawa split up. Australia and Kangaroo Island began moving northward in a huge geological upheaval. The movement caused magma, which is buoyant, to rise upward, and… lots of stuff I don’t really understand happened, or if you prefer, Mom nature blew a magic kiss to the area and poof! We have Ordovician granite riding along the Southern edge of Kangaroo Island.
I like Mom nature. I get her. This whole geology thing just doesn’t hold my interest. It takes them forever to get to the conclusion.
Over time, the outer layer of the rocks rusted because of the iron content in the granite. Or, that is what geologists say. What others will tell you is that the rocks are covered by a orange lichen – or fungus.
What I will tell you is I have no idea, but it looked like rust to me.
Either way, the rocks are orange, or at least partly orange. Except near the edge on the cliff side. The ledge is black, and is quite literally the dark side of the Remarkable Rocks.
The black area is a coating of algae which is slowly eroding the rock face. The algae is kept damp by the constant spray from the sea, which makes the area very slippery.
So, the unsuspecting tourist trying to look over the edge, wanders out onto the black slip ‘n’ slide and predictably slips… and slides off the cliff into the water below.
Ouch.
So, don’t go there. It is slippery and steeper than it looks. No matter what Darth says, stay away from the dark side. There are safer ways to go swimming and certainly more complementary ways to start an obituary than ‘lured to her death by the black algae sirens of doom.’
Although, that is not a bad catch line.
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