Murphy's Haystacks

Murphy's Haystacks are inselberg rock formations located at Mortana, between Streaky Bay and Port Kenny on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.[1]

The overhanging dome formation is approximately 8 metres (26 ft) high.
Murphy's Haystacks

They are of a 'tumulus' form of weathered granite outcrop.[2] They are made of a pink, massive, coarsely equigranular rock consisting mostly of quartz and orthoclase. Their appearance may be due to a combination of erosion by underground rainwater and then by subsequent weathering after they were exposed. Most of the pillars emerge without a break from the underlying granite. Their structural base may be of orthogonal or vertically-aligned sheet jointing.[3][4]

They obtained their name because a traveller in a coach saw the formation in the distance. He asked how a farmer could produce so much hay. As the farm was on a property owned by a man called Murphy, the rocks became known as Murphy's Haystacks.[5][6]

The site is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.[7]

Reverse side of the formation

References
  1. "Murphy's Haystacks". Google Maps. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. Main, B York (September 1997). "Granite outcrops: A collective ecosystem" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. Department of Zoology, University of Western Australia. 80 (3): 115. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  3. Twidale, C. R.; Campbell, Elizabeth M. (1984). "Murphy Haystacks, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 108 (4): 175, 177–9. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  4. White, Melissa (31 December 2008). "Prioritising rock-holes of Aboriginal and ecological significance in the Gawler Ranges" (PDF). Knowledge and Information Division Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. p. 17. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  5. "Murphys Haystacks in SA". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  6. "Murphy's Haystacks, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia". Steve Wade. 2002. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2014.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  7. "Murphy's Haystacks Geological Site". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

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