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Day 42 - Freemantle / Perth, Australia
Lake Thetis and Stromatolites
HAL Tour "Pinnacles Desert" ( Pinnacles Desert at Nambung National Park, Lake Thetis, and Moore River Estuary)
Lake Thetis is a small inland saline lake and became isolated from the sea about 4,800 years ago when the sea levels dropped. The lake is one of a few in the world with living marine stromatolites (living fossils). The microbes that build stromatolites are a species of cyanobacteria and are similar to those found in 3,500-million-year-old rocks. The lake’s stromatolites date to about 3,370 years. Stromatolite communities grow as the thin layer of bacteria on the surface deposit calcium, creating the rock lump structures. The lake is fed by groundwater flow and evaporation is the only loss of water.
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