PINNACLES WESTERN AUSTRALIA WA NAMBUNG

CARAVAN PARK 2007 The Pinnacles Desert From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The Pinnacles, W.A.The Pinnacles is contained within Nambung National Park, near the town of Cervantes, Western Australia. Contrary to the title of this article the Pinnacles are not called "the Pinnacles desert". The Pinnacles are limestone formations. The raw material for the limestone of the Pinnacles came from seashells in an earlier epoch rich in marine life. These shells were broken down into lime rich sands which were carried inland to form high mobile dunes. The Pinnacles were formed from lime leaching from the sand and by rain cementing the lower levels of the dune into a soft limestone. Vegetation forms an acidic layer of soil and humus. A hard cap of calcrete develops above the softer limestone. Cracks in the calcrete are exploited by plant roots. The softer limestone continues to dissolve. Quartz sand fills the channels that form. Vegetation dies and winds blow away the sand covering the eroded limestone, thus revealing the Pinnacles.