| LOCALITY |
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CONTINENTAL MAP |
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To be added |
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REGIONAL MAP |
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To be added |
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MAP REFERENCES |
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To be added |
| SAMPLE SATELLITE/AERIAL IMAGE |
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To be added |
| SAMPLE MARS SATELLITE IMAGE |
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To be added |
| IMAGE REFERENCES |
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| Mount Gee |
| DESIGNATION |
| Australia-SA_Mount_Gee |
| LONGITUDE |
| To be completed |
| LATITUDE |
| To be completed |
| LOCALITY AND OWNERSHIP |
| Arkaroola Station SA Pastroal Lease 2240.
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| ACCESS |
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No entry.
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| LOCAL CONTACTS |
| none
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| NEAREST SERVICES |
| Arkaroola. |
| RISKS |
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Loose rock material on steep slopes, sharp turn near cliffs makes for hazardous driving. 4WD access only.
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| GEOLOGY |
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Hill of altered granite showing containing a vertically zoned hydrothermal system. Primary granite alteration consists of haematite and quartz. The rocks at the base of hill exhibit about 10% by volume quartz veining. Those at the top of the hill 95% quartz veining. The granite is extensively brecciated showing both crackle vein and jigsaw fit textures. The qurtz veins are a stockwork of open spaces variably filled by crustiform, botryoidal, mammaliated and cockade textured quartz. The quartz is typically white but minor amounts of clear smokey and amethystine quartz crystals are present. Many of the coarse quartz crystals are clearly zoned. The veins of the upper half of the hill show contain nail-head quartz and pseudomorphs after platy calcite. The viens of the uppermost part of the hill contain internal sediments of haematitic jasper and graded beds of milled fragments, all of which commonly show displacement from their original orientation. Rare microbial filament impressions on quartz surfaces have been observed.
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| CLIMATE |
| To be completed.
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| FLORA AND FAUNA |
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Calitris (cypress) pines. Kerosene bush.
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| HISTORY |
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Arkaroola is the legacy of Dr. Reg Sprigg, a remarkable geologist and conservationists whose appreciation for the region dates back to 1940 when he studied the area as a student of the Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson. In 1967, Sprigg bought purchased what was at that time a sheep station and transformed it into a wildlife sanctuary by replenishing the native flora and fauna. The village, now operated by son Douglas Sprigg, is today a commercially viable ecological tourism and science centre, boasting a 30-room residential lodge complex, a caravan park, a restaurant, an astronomical observatory, and a conference/film hall.
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| ANALOGUE VALUE |
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Mt. Gee is an excellent example of a dissected high-level hydrothermal system that shows vertical zonation. It allows the search for fossil extremophiles at different levels in such systems and is therefore a useful training ground for the search of such fossils in the Martian context. Some of the worlds oldest fossils have been found here. Rocky slopes of approximately 20-30 degrees with local vertical outcrops represents a considerable challenge for vehicles and spacesuit activity. The area is extensively wooded by moderately sized trees.
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| REFERENCES |
- van Oosterzee, P. A 2000. Field Guide to Central Australia. Marleston, SA: J.B. Books.
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