The spectacular red, white and blue/black striped jasper rock (locally known as the ‘Bar’) was named as such by early pastoralists because they thought it was marble – and because it blocked the flow of the Coongan River.

The ‘Marble Bar’ is really jasper, or more correctly, very fine grained silica. The different colours in the rock come from trace amounts of mineral impurities. Iron (hematite) makes the red layers, pyrites and carbonaceous material makes the blue/black layers, and the white layers are pure silica (SiO2).

Throwing water over the face of the rock enhances the colours and gives the best view of the ‘Bar’.

 

© Kim Epton 2017-2022
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