Images Dated 2001

Giant poker (Kniphofia northiae)

Giant poker (Kniphofia northiae), flowering on a mountain slope in fog. The leaves of the clumps form rosettes up to two metres wide. The flower spikes range from 120 to 150 cm in height. Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

Asphodelaceae, Flora, Flower Spike, Flowering, Flowers, Giant Red Hot Poker, Octopus Torch Flower, Perennial, Plant, Red And Yellow, Red Hot Poker Large, Wildflowers, Xanthorrhoeaceae

Metamorphic rock 640 million years old

Metamorphic rock 640 million years old boulders distorted by a billion years of tectonic jostling, situated as this spot is in the buffer zone between the Australian, Indian and Antarctic continents. Cape Naturaliste, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, Western Australia

© Reg Morrison/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Coast, Continental Drift, Geological, Geological Time, Geology, Plates, Proterozoic, Rock Formation, Tectonic

Zircon crystal 4.1 billion years old, among the oldest fragments of Earthly material ever found

Zircon crystal 4.1 billion years old, among the oldest fragments of Earthly material ever found, The crystal is the size of dust and contains uranium. The degree of atomic decay in the uranium indicates that the crystallisation began over 4.1 billion years ago. The holes were made during the dating process at the Australian National University, Canberra. From Mount Narryer, Gascoyne region, Western Australia

© Reg Morrison/AUSCAPE All rights reserved