The Ancient Rift Zone of the Flinders Ranges

The Flinders Ranges Rift Zone in South Australia is a geological marvel. A place where Earth’s crust cracked open over 500 million years ago, giving rise to a dramatic landscape of folded mountains, fault lines, and fossil-rich seabeds. Once part of an ancient ocean basin, this rift system reveals the tectonic tensions that shaped not just the ranges but the very foundation of the Australian continent. From the Ediacaran fossils of Nilpena to the towering quartzite ridges of Wilpena Pound, the Flinders Ranges offer a window into the deep-time processes that sculpted one of Earth's oldest and most dynamic terrains.