Mount Elephant

Location: 37 57 30S 143 12 00E (external link); 7522-3-S (Derrinallum South) 927961. 1 km SW of Derrinallum. Hamilton Highway. Hampden Land Tenure/Use: Private land. Bare, grazing. Large operating quarry complex on lower western slopes and smaller disused (former Railways quarry) nearby. Type 5: Scoria cone with breached crater. Mount Elephant is a steep, isolated scoria cone rising almost 200 m above the flat surface of the surrounding lava plain. It is a single eruption point with an irregular rim caused by directed fire fountaining. The rim is breached on the north-eastern side giving an opening to a dry shallow summit crater with minimum enclosure of 20 m. The breach may be the result of collapse or removal of part of the rim during a small lava flow late in the eruption history of the volcano. There are few natural exposures on the mountain but several operating and abandoned pits at the base provide sections into the ejecta. This consists entirely of magmatic material (i.e. without phreatomagmatic) in the form of scoria, blocks and bombs without abundant xenoliths and megacrysts. These occur both in basalt rocks and scoria. Occasional small angular blocks of partially melted granitic bedrock also occur as xenoliths. 393 m; 200 m National: Mt Elephant is one of the most obvious volcanoes in Australia. It has conical form, steep sides, a crater and clear examples of volcanic ejecta are displayed in the quarries. It is the best example of a breached scoria cone in Victoria and possibly in Australia. This is also a major megacryst/xenolith site.

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Class 2:

The upper slopes, rim and crater and the southern flanks of the volcano are intact but huge, crudely cut quarries scar the entire western perimeter of the volcano. This rivals the worst examples of disfigurement of a major and significant volcanic structure of the Newer Volcanics Province. Coupled with the crude use of part of the site as a rubbish tip it provides a challenging maintenance and management issue. Detailed study is required to evaluate those slopes suitable for retention as displays of volcanic ejecta. A combination of slope grading, backfilling and appropriate plantings are required. Further scoria extraction from the steeper slopes will continue to degrade this site. The summit provides an excellent panorama of the basalt plains and other eruption points as well as a rare view of a crater not associated with a phreatomagmatic eruption. Quarries at base of Mount Elephant Breached crater of Mount Elephant.

References:

Grayson, H.J. & Mahony, D.J. 1910. The geology of the Camperdown and Mount Elephant districts. Geological Survey of Victoria Memoir 9. Ollier, C.D. 1967a. Landforms of the Newer Volcanic Province of Victoria. In J.N. Jennings & J.A. Mabbutt (eds). Landform studies from Australia and New Guinea. ANU Press, pp. 315-339.

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