The Organ Pipes

The Organ Pipes National Park is in Wurundjeri country just outside of Melbourne. The path from the carpark winds down to the river banks. Along these banks you will find beautiful dark, linear cast cliffs. This columnar jointing forms as a result of lava cooling slowly. The cracks form on the surface of the lava in a similar way to mud cracks forming on a drying river bank. The cooling cracks then propagate downwards through the lava and if the conditions are optimal (slow cooling) these cracks can retain their unique geometric form.

This hexagonal pattern is found throughout nature and represents the most efficient structure in terms of surface area e.g honeycomb structures made by bees.