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Lake Clifton - A lake of living rocks

Lake Clifton is renowned as one of the few places in the world where some of the earliest known life forms (thrombolites) still exist today. It is home to largest 'lake-bound' thrombolite reef in southern homisphere

boardwalk to Lake Clifton

walking thrugh the lakeside reeds and out onto Lake Clifton

Lake Clifton is famous for it contains rock-like structures known as thrombolites on its edges. The thrombolites sit in shallow water along a 6km-long section of Lake Clifton’s eastern shoreline.

Looking out upon the thrombolites at Lake Clifton, it’s hard to believe that those  very ordinary-looking rocks sitting in the shallows are alive.
The Lake Clifton thrombolites are sometimes referred to as the stepping stones of life. The thrombolites present an opportunity to view life as it appeared during the Archaean eon of the Earth’s history.  The Archaean happened between 3.8 and 2.5 billion years ago, meaning the Lake Clifton thrombolites provide a unique window into our distant past.  Our thrombolites are only a measly 2000 years old, but they are directly descended from the earliest known life forms on Earth.

Thrombolites are rock-like formations built by micro-organisms.   When these microbes photosynthesize, they precipitate calcium carbonate (limestone), which creates the dome shaped thrombolites.  Thrombolites form in shallow water, because the microbes need sunlight to photosynthesize. Great for scientific study.

Serpentine National Park

Serpentine National Park is best known for the waterfall which cascades over a sheer granite face to fall 15 metres into the pool below. The park abounds with the scenic beauty of the ancient landforms and lush green forests of the Darling Range.

Kitty’s Gorge trail

This walk is named after 'Kitty', a cow who wandered away from home and was found months later in the gorge.

visiting Serpentine Falls first

trail to Serpentine Falls

Serpentine Falls - cascades over a sheer granite face to fall 15 metres into the pool below

The rusty and charcoal walls that tower above the river are a sight to see. A stunning scene if after rain...

trail to Serpentine Falls - viewing from Kitty’s Gorge trail

Serpentine Falls - viewing from Kitty’s Gorge trail

water pipeline

giant pipeline that feeds Perth it's water supply

gauging station

impressive scenes nearby

like a fairyland

Kelly稱這裏是人間仙境 因太優美祥和了

bridge crossing over Serpentine River

Historic bridge across Serpentine River

lots of wildflowers along the way

lush forest

elegant river scenes

lots of cascades and waterfalls along the way

granite outcrops contribute the impressive waterfalls

arriving at a loop point

gauging station

scenes nearby

Mundaring Weir and pipeline  - a Scheme of Madness

由於Kalgoorlie的掏金熱 人口巨增　首席工程師CY O’Connor被任命解決供水問題　CY O’Connor拋出一個被人評為瘋狂的供水計劃　除了建造巨大水壩　還要建造世界最長的淨水供水系統  總長560公里爬升360公尺　需費西澳一年的預算　由於計劃太瘋狂　CY O’Connor廣受批評　在工程完成的前十個月　抑鬱而衷　享年59!

Mundaring Weir

The weir wall was 32m high when first built in 1898 and was extended by a further 10m in 1946, to triple its capacity. Today it can supply water to over 100,000 people and six million sheep in an area covering 44,000 square kilometres (two thirds the size of Tasmania). There are 123,850 cubic metres of concrete in the wall, which is 308m long.

using eight steam pump stations built in 1902 to pump the water through the pipeline to the Goldfields, 560km inland

To ensure the water still flowed in the event of a breakdown, every pumping station had a standby pumping set. To avoid the use of rivets, a standard feature of most pipes at the time, radical new ‘locking bar’ pipes were used.

CY O’Connor, a brilliant engineer who endured widespread scepticism and tragically ended his life 10 months before the success of the project was proven.

elegant scenes nearby

Yanni - A WALK IN THE RAIN