The Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell National Park, Victoria, Australia

(Click image to enlarge)

This site was originally called the Sow and Piglets. A more majestic name "The Twelve Apostles" was adopted in the 1950s to lure visitors even though there were only nine. More recently one of the formations collapsed, leaving eight in the group. Remnants of the last one to fall are seen in the foreground of this image. After some exploration of the area it appears that only from an airplane can all of the formations can be seen at once.

These formations are the remnants of the mainland's limestone cliffs. The stormy Southern Ocean, howling winds, and ten to twenty million years eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches, and when the arches collapsed rock stacks (seastacks) up to 45 meters (145 feet) high were left standing isolated from the shore. This is an ongoing process as shown by various sea caves in the shoreline with sink holes behind them, formed by the collapsing cave roofs.

This photograph replaces one captured in 2008 under less favorable foggy conditions.