Rock Structures Served as Bridge Sentinels for Aboriginal People
The dolerite rocks in the Cataract Gorge (Tasmania) were formed as lava cooled below the earth's surface (intrusive igneous rock). It took about 1500 years for rocks to cool. When the rock crystallized, cracks (joints) appeared in a regular (vertical) orientation. The regular orientation and spacing caused the rock to form distinctive near-vertical columns.
Tasmanian Aboriginal stories tell of ancestors who transformed into rock monoliths. The large column structures of dolerite that stand along the river at the Cataract Gorge were considered by some Aboriginal people to be sentinels or warriors who cared for the area. #engineering