Location within Shire of Corangamite and, inset, Victoria | |
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Near Port Campbell, Victoria |
Coordinates | 38°39′57″S143°06′16″E / 38.66583°S 143.10444°E |
Administration | |
Australia | |
State | Victoria |
LGA | Shire of Corangamite |
The Twelve Apostles are a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. The Twelve Apostles are located on the traditional lands of the Eastern Maar peoples. [1]
Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Eight of the original nine stacks remain standing at the Twelve Apostles' viewpoint, after one collapsed in July 2005. [2] Though the view from the promontory by the Twelve Apostles never included twelve stacks, additional stacks—not considered part of the Apostles group—are located to the west within the national park. [3]
The limestone unit that forms The Twelve Apostles is referred to as the Port Campbell Limestone, which was deposited in the Mid-Late Miocene, around 15 to 5 million years ago. [4]
The Twelve Apostles were formed by erosion. The harsh and extreme weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually erode the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then become arches that eventually collapse, leaving rock stacks up to 50 m (160 ft) high. The stacks are susceptible to further erosion from waves. In July 2005, a 50-metre-tall (160 ft) stack collapsed, leaving eight standing at the Twelve Apostles' viewpoint. [2] Due to wave action eroding the cliffs, existing headlands are expected to become new limestone stacks in the future. [5]
The stacks were originally known as the Pinnacles, and the Sow and Pigs (or Sow and Piglets, with Muttonbird Island being the Sow and the smaller rock stacks being the Piglets), as well as the Twelve Apostles. [2] [6] The formation's name was made official as the Twelve Apostles, after the Apostles of Jesus, to attract more tourists, [7] despite only ever having had nine stacks. [2]
In 2002, the Port Campbell Professional Fishermen's Association attempted to block the creation of the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park at the Twelve Apostles site. [8] The association approved of a later decision by the Victorian government to prohibit seismic exploration at the site by Benaris Energy, [9] believing such exploration would harm marine life. [10]
In March 2023, the Federal Court of Australia ruled in favour (under the Native Title Act of 1993) of formally recognising the Eastern Maar people as traditional owners' of 8,578 km2 of land located in south-west Victoria, including the Twelve Apostles. [11] [12] [13] [14]
The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage-listed 240-kilometre (150 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia, between the Victorian towns of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world's largest war memorial. Winding through varying terrain along the coast, and providing access to several prominent landmarks, including the Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations, the road is an important tourist attraction.
The Port Campbell National Park is a national park in the south-western district of Victoria, Australia. The 1,750-hectare (4,300-acre) national park is situated approximately 190 kilometres (120 mi) south-west of Melbourne and approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Warrnambool. The park is located adjacent to the Great Otway National Park and the Bay of Islands Coastal Park.
London Bridge is an offshore natural arch in the Port Campbell National Park, Australia. The arch is a significant tourist attraction along the Great Ocean Road near Port Campbell in Victoria. The stack was formed by a gradual process of erosion, and until 1990 formed a complete double-span natural bridge.
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Port Fairy is a coastal town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It lies on the Princes Highway in the Shire of Moyne, 28 kilometres (17 mi) west of Warrnambool and 290 kilometres (180 mi) west of Melbourne, at the point where the Moyne River enters the Southern Ocean.
Port Campbell is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Great Ocean Road, west of the Twelve Apostles, in the Shire of Corangamite. At the 2016 census, Port Campbell had a population of 478.
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