Mount Eccles

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 The review of eruption points was based on an earlier unpublished manuscript Catalogue of the post-Miocene volcanoes of Victoria compiled by O P Singleton and E B Joyce (Geology Department, University of Melbourne 1970).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:	38 04 00S 141 55 30E (external link); 7221-1-1 (Eccles) 811867. 7 km SW of Macarthur. Mount Eccles Road.
	Minhamite
Land Tenure/Use:	Public land (Mount Eccles National Park) and private land. Public road or walking access to many features. Grazing, scoria quarrying on private land.
Type 9:	Composite scoria and lava cone with deep crater.
	Mount Eccles is a volcanic complex including an elongate spatter and scoria cone truncated on the west by a crater built by coalescence of probably three vents. The crater has steep rocky walls exposing up to 10 separate lava flows. Contained in the crater is Lake Surprise which is 800 m long and 30 m deep. Lava flows spread radially from Mount Eccles and the younger flows were distributed along “canals” that branch from the northern end of the Lake Surprise crater. Along these are some very well preserved flow features including openings to several lava caves. The Tyrendarra flow, the youngest flow from Mount Eccles, extends for over 50 km to the west and south. On this flow are many very well preserved original features: stony rises, lava caves and lava channels. Extending in a line south-west from the main crater are several small subsidiary spatter cones with entire craters surrounded by spatter cones and lava driblet ramparts. One of these “The Shaft” has a vertical vent open to a depth of 30 m.
	177 m; 60 m.
International:	The Mount Eccles area is one of the youngest volcanic structures in Australia and has a remarkable variety of volcanic features in an excellent state of preservation. Of particular importance is the complexity of crater form, the length of the lava canals, the nature and features of the lava caves and lineation of spatter cones. The deepest of these cones “The Shaft” is a rare phenomenon in Australia and is of international significance. The site has possibly the best display of fluid basaltic eruptive flow features in Australia.
Class 1:	Quarries and private land use have had a significant adverse impact on the integrity of the Mount Eccles complex. Little Mount Eccles has been entirely removed, at least one of the spatter cones has been deliberately filled in and another is being destroyed by quarrying. The eruption points is only part of a very large volcanic complex that requires management as a whole unit. Continuing the current private land use in the area will continue to degrade and destroy significant features.
References:	Boutakoff, N. 1963. The geology and geomorphology of the Portland area. Geological Survey of Victoria Memoir 22. Ollier, C.D. & Joyce, E.B. 1973. Geomorphology of the Western District volcanic plains, lakes & coastline. In J. McAndrew & M.A.H. Marsend (eds) Regional guide to Victoria geology (2nd edn). School of Geology, University of Melbourne, pp. 100-113. Nicholls, I.A. & Edney, W.J. 1984. Mount Eccles volcanic complex. Volcanics Workshop 1984, Monash University, Melbourne (unpubl).

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