Newer Volcanics Province

The Newer Volcanics Province is a 23,000 km ² large volcanic complex, which extends mainly over the south-western Victoria, and to a lesser extent to the southeast of South Australia. It is the largest volcanic complex of Australia and covered 10.36 % of the area of the State of Victoria.

The complex includes over 400 volcanoes, which are younger than seven million years, most of which resulted from the influence of the East Australia hotspot on the southeastern Australia some 4.5 to 2 million years. Numerous volcanoes were, however, altered or destroyed by the influence of people in the course of European settlement through the system of quarries, agriculture and settlement.

In the territory of the Province there are six sites of the UNESCO World heritage and 14 national parks. The geological history has left significant traces from Tertiary to Quaternary. Through numerous volcanic eruptions lava flowed over the then existing landscape, in valleys, into the sea and formed numerous volcanic craters and landscapes from.

Culture

Many of the volcanic eruptions are attested by the Aborigines in their oral traditions and in their dream time, have lived there for 45,000 years. They used volcanic material for the production of stone tools and weapons, built of volcanic rocks canals and dams to breed fish and catch. The Gunditjmara built on Lake Condah stone huts and they were therefore the only indigenous tribe of Australia, the created solid buildings of stone.

Examples

Some examples of volcanoes and crater lakes in the Newer Volcanics Province are:

Mount Gambier, South Australia Maar Gunditjmara people Mount Gambier (volcano)
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