The Pinnacles (Atherton Tableland)


The Pinnacles are a series of seven volcanic cinder cones on the Atherton Tableland, near Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia. They were formed more than 350 000 years ago.
The vents have an overall southwest-northeast alignment, which suggests that the ascending magma utilised a pre-existing fracture within the earth's crust. Several of the craters are breached to the southeast, possibly due to the prevailing southeast winds blowing ash and scoria to the northwest and so building the cones more to that side. Parts of the rocky basalt flows are still densely forested and can be seen surrounding the Curtain Fig Tree.