We recently had a holiday up in the Kimberley (El Questro). The flight out of Kununurra took is via Broome to Perth. On the way I noticed a land formation which I was sure was not "normal", perhaps an impact crater but I didn't seriously expect it to be one.
Last night I found it on Google Earth, and what do you know, it's Spider Crater!
Wow, looks awesome! It is said to be highly inaccessible, would love the money and the chance to try to get in there and see it. Wonder if you could get a drop in by chopper for a day or two, camping and photographing?
It really is an interesting structure. Flying over the northern half of the state I took may potographs of different landforms that cough my eye, some great places to aim to get to one day.
Man its been a LONG time since I heard anything about El Questro... I was living in the NT a few years back, and during a working holiday I took up there I worked there for about 6 months.... perhaps the most sensationally stunning area of australia..
Great photo, Did you get any from El Questro? I'd like to see how its looking these days... Swinging arm bar still there??
Man its been a LONG time since I heard anything about El Questro... I was living in the NT a few years back, and during a working holiday I took up there I worked there for about 6 months.... perhaps the most sensationally stunning area of australia..
Great photo, Did you get any from El Questro? I'd like to see how its looking these days... Swinging arm bar still there??
Nice place to work
I got lots of shots of El Questro, 6.5GB Have been working through them, wittling them down deleting some, and making a book of our trip Working on that tonight actually. Good fun
I hope to eventually have some photo's "web ready" to share, but not really yet. I'm really happy with lots I'll post some teasers in another thread.
Neither I nor my partner area really "bar people", as we rarely drink acohol, so I can't say if the bar is still there sorry. We did spend some time at the bar at Emma Gorge Resort (where we were staying), but not sure if it had a particular name
In 2005/2006 I think it was that they got washed out by a cyclone (name escapes me right now), they had to re-build most of Emma Gorge resort and were shut for over a year. So there's a chance the bar when down in the 'drink'
I remember hearing about the cyclone, hence why I wondered if the bar was still there... it was actually on El Questro right near the helipad/hanger... I suppose with the cyclone, perhaps none of that survived..
I remember hearing about the cyclone, hence why I wondered if the bar was still there... it was actually on El Questro right near the helipad/hanger... I suppose with the cyclone, perhaps none of that survived..
Ahh, yeap, there's a bar there... near the heli pad, with the shop and info area. Steak House off a bit closer to the Pentcost river. I think the station townsite wasn't so badly affected as Emma Gorge by the cyclone..
wow roger, great pic, really does look like a spider too
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerg
G'day all,
We recently had a holiday up in the Kimberley (El Questro). The flight out of Kununurra took is via Broome to Perth. On the way I noticed a land formation which I was sure was not "normal", perhaps an impact crater but I didn't seriously expect it to be one.
Last night I found it on Google Earth, and what do you know, it's Spider Crater!
"Spider is an impact structure (or astrobleme), the deeply eroded remnant of a former impact crater, situated in the Kimberley Region of northern Western Australia, 18 km east of the Mount Barnett Roadhouse on the Gibb River Road. Due to very rugged terrain the site is effectively inaccessible. The name is derived from the visually striking spider-like radiating ridges of quartzite prominently visible from the air or on satellite images.
The unusual geological structure has been a puzzle since the 1950s, but it was not until shatter cones were discovered it the centre in the late 1970s that it was realized that it was an eroded impact structure.[1] The central area bearing shatter cones is interpreted as the relic of a central uplift with the outer limits of disturbance confined to a subcircular area about 11 x 13 km in diameter; the original crater may have been slightly greater than this due to the depth of erosion.[2] The asymmetry of the structure lead some geologists to conclude that the projectile had a very low angle trajectory from the north or northwest,[2] while others suggest that the asymmetry may be at least partly due to the effect of pre-existing topography.[1]
The age of the Spider impact event is not accurately constrained, but it has been argued it occurred after gentle folding of the Palaeoproterozoic quartzite, but before a regional episode of glacial erosion; if correct it occurred between 900-600 Ma i.e. during the Neoproterozoic.[1]"
). The flight out of Kununurra took is via Broome to Perth. On the way I noticed a land formation which I was sure was not "normal", perhaps an impact crater but I didn't seriously expect it to be one. 
