Dip Falls is a two-tiered waterfall structure and unique rock formations which makes it well worth a visit for several unusual features.
The co-ordinates will take you to the viewing platform. From the parking area next to the falls it's a short walk to a platform with an unsurpassed view out over the top of the falls. Another path leads down some steps to the base of the falls and its unique rock formations.
This is a cascade waterfall, over cubic-basalt columns, formed hundreds of years ago by the cooling of the volcanic rock. The erosive power of water has further defined these unusual rock formations.
183 million years ago, during the Jurassic, a major intrusion of dolerite occurred and covered over one third of Tasmania (the fourth largest known magma intrusion in the world). Around 3 to 5 million cubic kilometres of magma were intruded, mostly in the form of sills up to 500m thick.
Tasmania is home to the largest exposure of dolerite in the world (30 000 km2) and dolerite is referred to as the ‘rock that made Tasmania’. The most spectacular exposures of dolerite in Tasmania include Mt Wellington (overlooking Hobart), Cataract Gorge at Launceston, the Tasman Peninsular and Cradle Mountain.
A series of volcanic vents opened up between 58 to 8 million years ago, releasing lava flows of basalt across parts of Tasmania. In the north west Tasmania, there was so much lava that valleys filled and overflowed creating a 750 metre thick plain of basalt.
Dip Falls is a cascade waterfall that flows over cubic basalt columns which formed during the cooling of the extensive lava flow. The basalt rock features at the falls and base will have differing shapes and sizes due to differing rates of cooling. Other examples of the volcanic vents in the north west include the Table Cape and Stanley volcanic plugs. Like other waterfalls, Dip Falls is at its most impressive after rain and is best viewed in winter. However, the unusual rock formations are best viewed when not obscured by water flows.
To log this cache, go to the listed coordinates and email me the answers to these questions. You can immediately log the find and if there are any problems I will contact you.
QUESTIONS
Q1. Describe the shape and size of the basalt columns in the upper vertical waterfall areas (that is, the area where water cascades over the falls) and compare it with the shape and size of the rocks lying horizontally at the base of the falls.
Q2 Can you explain the differences?