StarryThrombolites
Situated within Yalgorup National Park, south of Mandurah, the Thrombolite reef at Lake Clifton provides a window into the ancient origins of life on Earth.
A popular spot for astro and sadly desecrated by people chasing “the shot” during a recent solar storm.
These intricate structures are rare globally and can only found in The Bahamas, Bermuda and Western Australia. Scientists hypothesize that Thrombolites represent some of Earth's earliest life forms, dating back around 570 million years.
They are believed to have played a crucial role in producing oxygen, which was essential for the development of all subsequent life forms.
The Lake Clifton Thrombolites are approximately 2,000 years young and the largest in the southern hemisphere.
You can view them from above on a boardwalk over the lake when the water levels are low, they are protected and many, many signs will tell you not to leave the walkway.
Dreamtime Story:
To the Noongar people of this region, their Dreamtime story tells the origin of the Thrombolites. With the land dry, the Noongars prayed to the sea for the water to become fresh. Their creator left the sea in the form of the serpent, Woggaal Maadjit. She pushed through the sand dunes, creating an inlet. She laid her eggs (the Thrombolites) and curled her body to protect them (the sand dunes protecting the lake). The baby serpents from the eggs that hatched carved out rivers, then when dying, they tunnelled underground forming subterranean springs on their way back to the Dreamtime.