Old Rock...........................

Submitted: Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 17:12
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Just had an interesting yarn on the phone with a mate who was telling me about a rather large rock somewhere about 2/3 of the way up the coast of W.A which is supposed to be the "oldest rock in the country, possibly the world...... "

My mate is not sure of the name or the location, but I just know that someone on this forum will have the correct information!!!!
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Reply By: Troopy22 - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 17:35

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 17:35
Brian

He may be talking about Mt Augustus - Australia's largest monolith - but it's not on the coast. I took the following off a site that may be of interest.

"Mount Augustus, or Burringurrah as it is known by the local Wadjari Aboriginal people, is about 850 kilometres from Perth and midway between the Great Northern and North West Coastal highways. One of the most spectacular solitary peaks in the world, it rises 717 metres above a stony, red sandplain of arid shrubland—dominated by wattles, cassias and eremophilas—and is clearly visible from the air for more than 160 kilometres.

The rock itself, which culminates in a small peak on a plateau, is about eight kilometres long and covers an area of 4,795 hectares. At about twice the size of Uluru [Ayers Rock] it is the biggest 'rock' in the world."

Troopy22

AnswerID: 183947

Follow Up By: Member - Bill F (VIC) - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:05

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:05
Hi Troopy22

Have you got GPS co-ordinates for Mount Augustus?
I can't find it on google earth

Bill

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Follow Up By: Alloy c/t - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:14

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:14
'biggest rock in the world" anyone ever hear of Gibralta ?? nah thought not as everything in Aus "has to be the biggest /best" ,,20mil population compared to 3billion+, yet we have all the biggest and best [including ego].

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Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:30

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:30
And we have also got the biggest Alloy c/t.Yippeeeeeeeeeeee.
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Follow Up By: Member - Brian (Gold Coast) - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:48

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:48
Many thanks Troopy, I'll pass that on to my mate.

Alloy.... Don't shoot the messenger, I just asked the question.... but now you mention it yoiu'll see on this page here that Gibraltar's population is 27,928 (July 2006 est.), rather short of the 3 billion + that you quoted. Cheers for your input anyway.

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Follow Up By: Member - Jon W (QLD) - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 19:07

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 19:07
Bill F,
Try 24-18.6 S 116-54.57 E AUS 84.
Jon W
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Follow Up By: Member - Banjo (WA) - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:34

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:34
Mt Augustus may well be the 'biggest', but in terms of what you look at, it's nothing compared to Ayres Rock.

The Rock is imposing, rising out of the ground as it does. Mt Augustus just looks like any other hill/mountain.

Banjo (WA)
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Follow Up By: Alloy c/t - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:49

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:49
Brian ,did not mean the population equation ,just that we Australians ALWAYS claim the biggest/oldest/best in no matter what the subject , gets to be a bit tiresome when the real facts show otherwise ,bit like the US of A and THEIR world series baseball ,,does it involve the world ? NO ,,,, in world population terms and biggest/best ect WE are like a pimple on the worlds bum ,always there but of no real concern.
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Follow Up By: disco1942 - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:50

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:50
In answer to Alloy's comment – if you have a looka at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monolith you will see that Gibralta does not get a mention. The reason is it is not a monolith but many rocks.

Geological monoliths

The three largest on Earth are currently:
1.Mount Augustus, in Australia
2.La Peña de Bernal, in Mexico
3.Stone Mountain, in Stone Mountain Park, Stone Mountain, a suburb
of Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Note: For many years, Uluru/Ayers Rock was listed in record books as the world's largest monolith. This is wrong on two counts. Uluru is not a monolith at all, but even if it were, Mt Augustus is about 2.5 times its size.

PeterD
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Follow Up By: Off-track - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 21:54

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 21:54
If it's not a monolith, what is it?
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Follow Up By: Gramps (NSW) - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 00:29

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 00:29
Yipppppeeeeeeeeeeeeee so we are the biggest :))))) Break out the champagne, not for grumpy old Alloy c/t though LOLOL
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Follow Up By: Member - MUZBRY VIC) - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 09:31

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 09:31
Gday
You mentioned the WORLD SERIES ,,,,that is the name of the news paper that sponsers the series,,nothing to do with the rest of the world..
Muzbry
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Reply By: Member - Peter A (VIC) - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:28

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:28
Troopy,
You are correct mate, Mount Augustus is the biggest

Cheers mate, Peter A
AnswerID: 183954

Reply By: Member - Rotord - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:36

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:36
Another possibility , between Port Hedland and Marble Bar , look for the North Pole Mine . The ridge that runs north of the mine has the oldest fossil life forms on earth and I believe there was also a claim to the oldest rocks .
AnswerID: 183957

Follow Up By: Member - Brian (Gold Coast) - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:49

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 18:49
Many thanks Rotord, I'll pass that info on as well...... it's quite possible I may have confused "oldest" with "biggest"... at least my mate will be informed.

Cheers

Brian
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Follow Up By: Dave198 - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 21:15

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 21:15
I must try and find some info on the fossils in that area of the North Pole Mine.
I thought the fossils in the Flinders Ranges were amongst the oldest in the world. About 550 million years old. I guess some of you would have driven over the fossils of this era on the Brachina Gorge road just near the Teamsters Campground.
Dave
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Follow Up By: Off-track - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 21:52

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 21:52
I thought there were older ones in Oz such as out near Hughenden & Richmond QLD where they have dinosaur fossils. BTW the Finke River is supposedly the oldest in the world...dunno how they found that out tho.
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Follow Up By: Member - Rotord - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 00:25

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 00:25
The North Pole Mine fossils are of single cell organisms and are seen as a rock strata line a few millimeters thick . The original site has been lost , causing a bit of scientific angst . There are also fossil stromatalites on the same ridge and , although related to the living examples of Shark Bay , they are of extreme antiquity . These predate the dinosaurs by a billion or two years .

The sandgropers best claim to fame is as brewers of really bad beer . Do they still make Southwark?
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Reply By: warrioroz - Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:51

Monday, Jul 17, 2006 at 20:51
Mount Augustus
The largest monolith in the world
Located 320 km east of Carnarvon, Mount Augustus is the largest monolith in the world. It is 2.5 times larger than Uluru (Ayers Rock) standing 858 m above the surrounding plain and 1105 metres above sea level.

Cheers
AnswerID: 183975

Reply By: Motherhen - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 00:03

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 00:03
Uluru is a monolith - ie one solid rock. Mt Augustus, although heaps bigger, is a monocline ie made of layers and tilted up. Rough definitions only so you experts please don't take me to task. As Australia is a very old land on a world scale, Mt A may well be the oldest as well as the biggest.

Now here's a question i can't solve:
What is Australia's second biggest monolith (2nd to Uluru)? Almost every state is adamant that it is theirs - eg SA have Mt Wudinna which doesn't look to me as big as Walga Rock near Cue in WA. Baladjie Rock near Bullfinch is a pretty big boulder as well.
Motherhen

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AnswerID: 184015

Follow Up By: oldmagpie2 - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 10:47

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 10:47
the biggest rock is in fremantle cemetery & its name is bon scott, they stole his plaque but he's still there. cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - Brian (Gold Coast) - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 16:08

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 16:08
Ahhhhhh Bon Scott

The One

The ONLY!

Just last week I found a whole bunch of old AC/DC videos, I think on mytube.com, featuring the mighty Bon.

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Reply By: Gu_Patrol - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 11:38

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 11:38
While we're on the Google thing check these out.

S19 10.3129, E127 47.7733

S29 31'54" E137 27'59 zoom to about 10kms it's the Marree man
AnswerID: 184064

Follow Up By: Member - Brian (Gold Coast) - Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 16:18

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 at 16:18
Hey GU..... I can ALMOST remember the story of the Marree Man, can you refresh it for me??
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