Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Between about 1,800 and 1,400 Ma the sediments that later formed the rocks were deposited in the sea. Later folding and earth movement resulted in  mostly sandstones and conglomerates about 500 m thick. This formation has 2 main sets of joints at right angles to each other. The Katherine River is one of the rivers with its head waters on the Arnhem Land Plateau. Its course follows a zig-zag path along these intersecting joints. About 25 Ma it began cutting the Katherine Gorge through the ancient rocks of the plateau. Many other side fissures have been formed by weathering and erosion along the line of other joints, and there are a number of faults along which the rocks on either side have moved in relation to each other.

Jedda Rock is a smooth 64 m high cliff and Smitt's Rock is a prominent outcrop along the gorge.

The Aboriginal people of the area are the Djauan.

Helen Grasswill & Reg Morrison, Australia, a Timeless Grandeur, Lansdowne, 1981