Australia
The Pinnacles Desert (also just known as The Pinnacles) is a a region of Australia’s western desert region which features a veritable forest of limestone pillars. The remnants of ancient dunes, the immense fields of pinnacles are more or less unique in nature, and one of the distinctive landmarks of Australia’s West Coast. The fields of pinnacles are now protected within the boundaries of Nambung National Park.
The desert area of Western Australia was explored in the 19th and 20th centuries but more or less remained a backwater until after World War II. After Nambung National Park was established in 1956, the pinnacles became more widely known, and by the 1960s the area was receiving many curious visitors. The Pinnacles were further popularized by their appearance in Billy Connolly’s World Tour of Australia.
The Pinnacles Desert is spread over an expansive area, with hundreds of formations ranging from small rocky protusions to giant pyramid-like stones. Although made from the limestone remnants of a seabead filled with shells, the exact mechanism of how the pinnacles formed is still something of a mystery.
The Pinnacles Desert is now among the most popular natural sites of Western Australia, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Access to the pinnacles is now exclusively through Nambung National Park, which also includes several miles of seashore where whale watching is a popular past time. Web: https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/nambung (official website).
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