Fireclay Caverns facts for kids
Fireclay Caverns are amazing caves located at the historic Mount Morgan Mine site in Queensland, Australia. These caverns weren't formed naturally. Instead, they were dug out by people working at the Mount Morgan Mine. They needed a lot of clay for their brickworks, which made bricks.
The caverns are really big, with openings that are about 4 to 12 metres high from the floor. Digging for clay stopped in the early 1900s when the mine's brickworks closed down. Later, in 1954, something incredible was found: dinosaur footprints! These footprints were preserved in the rock ceilings. So far, nine different parts of the Fireclay Caverns' ceilings have these dinosaur footprints. They are about 195 million years old, from the Early Jurassic period.
Walkways and stairs were built in 2010 so people could visit and see the footprints as part of mine tours. However, the site was closed in 2011 because parts of the ceiling were becoming unstable, making it unsafe for visitors.
How the Caverns Were Made
The Fireclay Caverns were dug out to get clay for the Mount Morgan Mine's brick factory. Workers used tools like picks and shovels to dig the clay from inside the caverns. Then, the clay was moved by an underground rail system to the brickworks, which was located lower down at the mine site. Digging stopped when the mine no longer needed clay from these caverns.
Discovering Dinosaur Footprints
After the digging stopped, some of the clay from the cavern ceilings started to fall away. This revealed the rock ceilings above. In 1953, a geologist named HRE Staines from Mount Morgan Limited noticed something special: dinosaur footprints in these rock ceilings!
More than 300 dinosaur footprints have been found on the ceilings of the caverns. These footprints are very old, dating back about 195 million years to the Early Jurassic period. It's amazing to think that dinosaurs walked here so long ago!
Home to Bent-Wing Bats
Once the digging stopped, a group of bent-wing bats started living in the caverns. These bats made the caverns their home. To keep the bats safe and protect their habitat, the parts of the caverns where they live are not open to people.
