Bridges of the World 8

This one is quite a different kind of bridge - a natural archway forming a bridge-like structure. It's nothing like the person made structures that we typically think of as bridges. It was part of a bigger structure at Port Campbell in Victoria known as London Bridge because of its similarity to London's famous bridge by the same name. The Port Campbell London bridge collapsed unexpectedly on the 15th January, 1990 with two tourists trapped and requiring rescue by helicopter. Luckily no-one was injured but it must have given the tourists and anyone watching a pretty big fright.

This area of the Victorian coast line can be found along the famous Great Ocean Road between Geelong and Warrnambool and provides many similar scenic sites along the journey. The collapse of the arch serves as a reminder of the dynamic nature of the coast line and the power of the waves which crash onto the shore gradually eroding the structures away.

In fact the eroding has been happening for a really long time. It is claimed that the limestone in this area is dated at 15 - 20 million years old. However, the structures themselves that we currently see when viewing the sites are a mere 6,000 years old.

Viewing these scenes as ancient landscapes certainly changes the way we might think about these areas. It taps into a sense of insignificance as our lifespan just touches a small portion of time this land has been here, with its waves and winds crashing against the coast line.

#__Port_Campbell
#__Bridge
#_Ancient


%darlingshe