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A Desert Heart That Looks Like Ruins of an Ancient Civilization
About 200 kilometers north of Perth lies Nambung National Park, home to one of Australia’s most surreal landscapes — the Pinnacles Desert. Here, thousands of limestone pillars rise from golden dunes, some reaching up to three meters high. From a distance, the formations resemble the remains of a forgotten city or the broken walls of a colossal stone temple.
Although the scene looks almost extraterrestrial, the landscape is entirely natural — and that is exactly what makes it so mysterious.
How Did These Stone Towers Form?
Scientists still have no single, definitive explanation. Several competing theories attempt to describe the origin of the Pinnacles.
1. Calcium Deposits and Erosion
According to the most widely accepted theory, the area was once a coastal zone about 100,000 years ago. Shells and corals formed thick limestone layers that later became the foundation of the pillars. As the sea receded, wind and rain eroded the softer material, leaving only the hardened stone cores standing upright.
2. Ancient Tree Root Theory
Some researchers believe the pillars formed around the roots of ancient trees. As the roots absorbed minerals from the soil, calcite crystallized around them. After the trees died, these mineralized “molds” hardened into stone, eventually becoming the formations we see today.
3. Combined Geological Process
A third theory merges both ideas. It suggests that marine sediments and plant activity worked together, while thousands of years of wind and rain erosion sculpted the final shapes.
Age and Local Myths
Depending on the method used, Pinnacles Desert formations are dated between 25,000 and 100,000 years old. To the local Nyoongar Aboriginal people, the site is a spiritual realm. In their tradition, the stone pillars represent the frozen spirits of ancestral beings who became part of the desert sands.
Alternative researchers have proposed more controversial ideas — such as remnants of a long-lost civilization that once lived in Australia’s inland deserts, similar to structures like Pumapunku or Gobekli Tepe. However, no scientific evidence supports these claims.
A Natural Wonder That Still Confuses Experts
Despite the differing theories, one thing is certain: the Pinnacles are among the most unusual geological formations in Australia. The mix of golden dunes and vertical limestone towers creates an illusion of a city suspended in time. During sunrise or sunset, the landscape becomes especially surreal, as long shadows weave between the pillars.
Pinnacles Desert is more than a tourist attraction — it is a living record of Earth’s ancient processes and a reminder of how little we truly know about our planet’s formation.
For some, it is simply a stone desert. For others, it is a place where nature reveals the secrets of creation itself.
