The Bluff (Yallock Vale)

This information has been obtained from the report: Eruption Points of the Newer Volcanic Province of Victoria by Neville Rosengren. This report was published in 1994 and was prepared for the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and the Geological Society of Australia (Victorian Division). The review of eruption points was based on an earlier unpublished manuscript Catalogue of the post-Miocene volcanoes of Victoria compiled by O P Singleton and E B Joyce (Geology Department, University of Melbourne 1970).

Geological heritage sites, including sites of geomorphological interest and volcanic heritage sites, are under regular revision by the Geological Society of Australia, especially in the assessment of significance and value. Reference should be made to the most recent reports. See the Earth Science Heritage (external link) section of the Geological Society of Australia website for details of geological heritage reports, and a bibliography.

Location:

37 43 30S 144 17 00E (external link); 7722-1-3 (Ingliston) 590218. 14 km SW of Bacchus Marsh. Glenmore Road.

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Private land:

Grazing, abundant outcrop.

Ballan

Type 1:

Lava cone with crater.

A peninsula like ridge of lava is prominent on the southern side of the Parwan Creek valley. The eruption point on the ridge is defined by a shallow crater enclosed by a circle of dipping lava beds and an accumulation of scoria. There are massive landslips and other mass movement forms in the Tertiary sedimentary beds beneath the lava.

420+ m; 30 m.

State:

The bluff is one of the most prominent landforms of the Parwan Valley which itself is a broad feature of considerable geological significance. The crater area is well-defined by eroded lava ridges and is one of the few examples in the region of crater forms preserved on a lava volcano. The massive landslips are one of the major examples of mass movements in Victoria and are directly related to the overlying resistant volcanic rocks.

Class 2:

The eruptions site is small and the outcrop is vulnerable to physical damage. The current agricultural land use is compatible with maintaining the geological and geomorphological values of the site.

References:

Rosengren, N.J. 1986. Explanatory notes on Bacchus Marsh and Ballan 1: 50 000 geological maps. Geological Survey of Victoria Report 76.

The Bluff (Yallock Vale)

The Bluff (Yallock Vale)

The Bluff (Yallock Vale) Geological Map (from Bacchus Marsh 1:50 000 Geological Map, Geological Survey of Victoria)

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