Hay! It's a volcano Traditional Cache
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This cache is located close to the entrance to the Mount Hay Gemstone Tourist Park at the base of Mt Hay, once a rumbling volcano.
Here you can fossick for Thundereggs. The thudereggs you can see today are the fruits of its earlier violent eruptions. Ordinary looking on the outside, these geo treasures are stunning underneath and their layers tell the story of an incredible geo journey.
Mt Hay’s thundereggs formed in silica-rich volcanic rocks resulting from ancient lava flow called Rhyolite 120 million years ago. The flowing Rhyolite trapped small particles and tiny gas bubbles, leading to the development of ‘volcanic birthstones’. Thundereggs occurred when two forms of crystallization took place creating spherulites and spheruloids. Spherulites are a radical growth created when minerals crystallize around a nucleus. Spheruloids are a hollow form created when minerals crystallize around a steam bubble. As the lava cooled the star shaped cavity often seen in thundereggs (spheruloids) developed. The cooling caused minute cracks to occur, allowing silica-rich solutions to seep into the cavities. This filled them with minerals such as quartz, agate, chalcedony, quartz crystals, amethyst, jasper and opalite.
While in the area try your luck and take home your geo treasure! Tools and assistance provided. A truly fascinating experience.
Take a tour of the site and check out the gemstone cutting and pewter casting factories.
You can also camp amidst this intriguing landscape, surrounded by the secrets of the ages.
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Treasures
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