Mount Schank Crater Rim Walk (3.3km)

Mount Schank was named in December 1800 during an exploratory voyage along Australia’s south-east coast by the ship HMS Lady Nelson. Mount Gambier was also spotted and named on the same voyage. It was declared a State Heritage Area on 11 June 1992. The features seen at Mount Schank today are the result of two phases of volcanic activity. The first stage developed a significant scoria cone with an ash ring (maar) to the south and a basaltic lava flow to the west. The later phase created the main cone, which buried the original scoria cone and overlapped the maar. Work by the University of Adelaide Physics Department has dated the original Mount Schank eruption to 4,500 years ago.

The Gambier limestone that forms the base layer for both Mount Schank and Mount Gambier contains abundant groundwater, which has played a role in determining the type of volcanic eruptions produced in each area. The craters at Mount Schank are at, or above, the level of the surrounding plain, and thus well above the groundwater table. This means that they have remained dry, unlike the Mount Gambier craters, which filled to become spectacular lakes