TIMELINE |
|
Years (ca) |
Event |
30–16,000 B.P. 60-42,000 B.P
|
Extinction of Australia’s Megafauna The first evidence of human colonisation of Australia |
2 Ma |
Megafauna dominates |
25 Ma |
Opal formation |
65 Ma |
Extinction of the Dinosaurs |
95 Ma |
Eromanga dinosaur ‘Cooper’ |
110 Ma |
Eromanga Sea inundates the Eromanga Basin |
115-95 Ma |
Eromanga Basin |
128 Ma |
Tookoonooka |
250-205 Ma |
Eromanga Basin forms |
298-250 Ma |
Cooper Basin forms |
354-298 Ma |
Lush peat lands form |
410-354 Ma |
Adavale Basin forms |
434-410 Ma |
Uplifting emerges land |
500-550 Ma |
Gondwana forms |
4.6 Ga |
Earth forms |
KEY
BP = Before Present
Ma = Million Years Ago
Ga = Billion Years Ago
ca = approximate
Outback Gondwana Foundation (OGF), along with our valuable supporters and volunteers, strives to ensure Outback Gondwana’s heritage is not lost to science but discovered, preserved and accurately documented for perpetuity.
With so much still to be discovered and recorded in this unique area of Australia, the history books on Outback Gondwana are yet to be written.
Gondwana was the ancient, southern supercontinent that formed 550-500 Ma (million years ago), after a series of tectonic events amalgamated the land masses of present-day South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica.
Gondwana remained a relatively stable landmass until ~167 Ma, when it began to subdivide. Today, New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania still remain connected by a thin continental shelf and represent the largest remnant fragment of Gondwana.
Scientists have been able to confirm the concept of Gondwana by studying the distribution of fossil fauna and flora found in the now separate land masses.
Outback Gondwana encompasses the geological, palaeontological, archaeological and natural history record that exists in Outback South-west Queensland. This ancient landscape has witnessed: prehistoric life, early human settlement and pioneering efforts, as well as timeless geological and climatic forces, which have shaped Australia and continue to do so.
Australia’s Outback not only reveals ancient evidence which unlocks secrets of the past, but it also offers to the inquisitive mind, keys to the future. For it is only by understanding how our unique biosphere has evolved over time, that we may best plan for future challenges, which will face this ancient, island continent that is Australia.
Blue Hills, South-west Queensland - what Outback Gondwana looks like today.