Tessalated Pavement Evening, a photo from Tasmania, East

Photographer's Note

After a very long day on tour we arrived at Eaglehawk Neck late in the evening,aching all over we managed a few shots,oh how I long to return...

The isthmus connecting the Tasman Peninsula to Tasmania is covered in a pattern of regular rectangular saltwater pools. Although these depressions look distinctly man made, they are in fact the result of a rare type of natural erosion.

Occurring near sea coasts on flat rock which has broken into regular blocks, the effect is known as "tessellated pavement" for its resemblance to Roman mosaic floors (also called tessellated pavement). The pavement takes two forms. Depressions are known as pan formations, occurring when saltwater wears away the center portion of the stones into pools. The opposite effect is known as a loaf formation, when the edges of the stone are worn away leaving a rounded crown resembling rising bread.

Tessellated pavement is extremely rare, found only in a few places on Earth. The geology is not related to the effect that created the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland and Fingal's Cave in Scotland. Those features were formed as basaltic lava cooled and fractured; tessellated pavement occurs as sedimentary rock erodes.

Eaglehawk Neck is also famous for its association with the prison colony at Port Arthur. In 1832, a military outpost was setup to watch for escaping prisoners, and dogs were positioned along the isthmus to raise a ruckus if they spotted an escapee. The motley army of dogs were described in 1840:

"There were the black, the white, the brindle, the grey and the grisly, the rough and the smooth, the crop-eared and the lop-eared, the gaunt and the grim. Every four-footed, black-fanged individual among them would have taken first prize in his own class for ugliness and ferocity at any show."

Port Arthur closed in 1877 (now open as a tourist attraction), but there is a monument to the dogs at Eaglehawk Neck. Along with the tessellated pavement, there are several other unusual geologic formations, including a natural arch and blowhole, nearby.

brianmcc, mmohan, dta, PecoBud, emilbo, tyro, Sonata11, prasun984, robmal, timecapturer, patdeph, Curious_Eye, delpeoples has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

brianmcc (5536) 2012-05-01 12:50

hi leslie,
what a stunning perspective you have achieved with the wide angle lens. the pavement is fascinating. the inclusion of the figures on the coast is superb. lovely colours, the green, blue and orange on in the sky all combine well to help createw a wonderful composition.
regards,
brian

mmohan (738) 2012-05-01 13:02

Hi Leslie
Fascinating geography!
Great Colours and light
Regards,
Manoj

dta (51454) 2012-05-01 13:09

Hello Leslie ,
You present to us , outstanding rocky formations , too . This is also a great composition , with a splendid moody light and fine reflections on the wet ground . I like the vivid green of the seaweeds , contrasting with the darker tonalities .
Regards

PecoBud (3778) 2012-05-01 13:59

Super sweet photo Leslie, and your wide angle lens has captured all the wonderful colors and formations perfectly. Stunning clarity and fine detail to light management with your awesome POV makes this photo very pleasing to view. Great Job Leslie!!

TFS............Your Friend from California..........Buddy

emilbo (20852) 2012-05-01 14:09

Allô Leslie!
Bon choix de lentille pour prendre cette magnifique photo avec une étonnante perspective. L'avant-plan tel un filet est très intéressant et nous amène aux personnages qui humanisent la scène. Bel éclairage et les couleurs sont merveilleuses.
Cordiales salutation du Canada,
Emilius

tyro (13101) 2012-05-01 14:28

Hello Les,

You have given us a most fascinating note here - I was really interested to read about these "tessellated" pavements. And I loved that wonderful, almost Dickensian description of the dogs!

Your note about these fascinating rock formations is perfectly illustrated here, so much so that I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that the tessellations nearest to the camera are of the "pan" type with raised bits between the sections of rock. How very curious. But I think I see evidence too of deep cracks between the slabs, especially coming up from the bottom left corner of your picture - does that mean that those ones are of the "loaf" type?

Anyway, I suppose I'd best say something about your picture rather than just enthuse about geology, interesting though it is!

Firstly, you have illustrated your note well and I suspect that this is an excellent photographic representation of this very rare geological phenomenon. It is certainly a wonderful picture and well composed: we have the converging lines leading the eye well into the distance toward the mountains beneath a lovely late evening sky and the bright green patches of weed add even more interest to the foreground. And, of course, the addition of a group of people in the mid-ground adds to the perspective, adds human interest and also gives an idea of scale. Were they your travelling companions on this trip?

Absolutely Fascinating!

Kind Regards,

John.

P.S. I can fully understand why you want to return here!

Gigidusud (8078) 2012-05-01 15:19

Hi Leslie,
Fantastic landscape with nice pastel tones and great perspective.I like it!
Thanks for sharing.
Ghislaine

Sonata11 (28341) 2012-05-01 21:03

Hello Leslie,
Wow!!! what a beautiful composition and framing of fabulous nature with marvellous perspective, colors, sharpness, clarity. This pavement is a very impressive and beautiful. Wonderful and amazingly executed image with fantastic POV. Thanks for sharing. Perfectly well done. Love it. Awesome photo job.
All the best,
Barbara

emka (58152) 2012-05-01 23:20

Hi Les,

Interesting photo from Australia. The flat area looks like man made, strange that it is natural. You achieved fantastic depth, wonderful colours of late evening.

Warm regrads

Malgo

prasun984 (5590) 2012-05-01 23:46

Hi Leslie,
Very romantic and exciting landscape.Great colors and details.Superb POV and ideal time for this shoot.Perfect result!

Have a great week,
Prasun

robmal (1548) 2012-05-02 3:44

Hello Leslie.
This is realy amazing
place, very interesting note and great shot, congratulations.
Best regards Robert.

timecapturer (30334) 2012-05-02 6:10

Hi Les
a fascinating shot this. The lines are so enticing and the overall effect is quite compelling. Love the colours which give such a tantalising atmosphere to the image. Amazing!

Regards - Brian.

patdeph (35738) 2012-05-02 12:30

hello Leslie
the lines of this flat landscape create impressive perspective and depth, and the superb light gives magnificent colors.I like the presence of the 3 êople to give animation.Superb!
Regards
Pascale

froggy45 (380) 2012-05-04 11:21

Hi Les,
Amazing landscape, it's really difficult to imagine that nature has created such regular shapes. Fantastic sharpness throughout the picture and wonderful vivid colours. I like the fact that you have included a lot of foreground as well as the human presence to give the landscape a sense of proportion. Congrats!
Spela

abmdsudi (26281) 2012-05-07 1:20

Hi Leslie
Very rare upload, the Tesselated pavement is so significant geological feature here, and thanks to your infor notes guiding us through. Superb low view point, an image of layers from bottom to top, with some very nice textures in the foreground, a lovely finish to the water in the distance and then the tip of the peninsular rising into a very tasty color of the evening sky. Wonderful formation. Excellent effort, TFS
Warm regards

i9l2y1m8a8t3 (4435) 2012-05-27 6:29

Hi Les!

I love this one, i liked how you Post processed his image as it still looks natural to me. Those vibrant greens from the moss and the effect of tessellated floor with reflections are just nice to view. Great capture!

My compliments!
Matt

photoray (4926) 2012-06-23 6:42

Howdy Leslie,
Cruising through your thumbnail photos, I was immediately attracted to this guy for Nature's geometric creation, encrusted with algae, mirrored sky, and stretching into the distance.

Congratulations,
Cheers,
Ray

maria-v1981 (10403) 2012-06-26 12:24

Hi Leslie,
A diffrent landscape with wonderful textures. Excellent perspective and depth which came out from the very good low pov. Beautiful colours.
Warm regards,
Maria

delpeoples (44960) 2012-08-11 5:29

Gidday Les

I don't know how I missed this little gem, but so glad I found it. The tessellated rock platform is truly wonderful and you have captured it superbly. The sky is a lovely and unusual colour and can't help but think that one of Mr Lee's lovely grey-grad filters would have helped with the exposure there on the left hand side. In any event a wonderful photo that I could look at for hours.

Congratulations
Lisa