Island Archway
The Island Archway ( Archway = bridge arch ) was a 25 meter high, naturally formed rock gate that lay in front of Loch Ard Gorge , a bay on the south coast of Victoria in Australia . The gate collapsed on June 10, 2009. The rock arch, free-standing in the water, was frequently photographed by the numerous international and national tourists who vacationed in the Great Ocean Road area . The national and international press reported extensively on this geological event.
After the collapse, only two limestone rock pillars are left of the rock gate . The cliff consists of a relatively poorly solidified limestone, which has lost rock volume due to erosion by wind and weather, making it unstable.
The Island Archway was part of a series of free-standing limestone formations on the Great Ocean Road , which also includes the Twelve Apostles . As early as January 1990, another rock arch on this coast, the inner arch of the London Arch , collapsed. The stability of these cliffs is only of short duration when viewed in geological time.
Initially it was believed that the Island Archway would keep its name. The two pillars are now officially named after the first names of the two castaways Tom and Eva, the only survivors of the Loch Ard ship disaster off Mutton Island , in the immediate vicinity of the Island Archway .
Since 2011, eight major projects on the coast of the Great Ocean Road have been planned for the tourist infrastructure, including an information center at Loch Ard Gorge about local conditions.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ smh.com.au : Archway no more: Victorian icon becomes two , June 11, 2009, in English, accessed March 2, 2012
- ↑ spiegel.de : Australia's tourist magnet. Collapsed rock arch on the Great Ocean Road , June 11, 2009, accessed March 2, 2012
- ↑ standard.net.au : Mary Alexander: Multi-million dollar plan for Great Ocean Road coast , November 28, 2011, in English, accessed March 2, 2012
Coordinates: 38 ° 38 '53.7 " S , 143 ° 4' 4.7" E