The Yilgarn

Article | Updated 9 years ago

The Yilgarn, Pilbara and Kimberley cratons of Western Australia contain rocks more than 2.5 billion years old.

Kalgoorlie is situated in the eastern part of the Yilgarn Craton (‘Yilgarn’ is a word used by Aboriginal people in the area of Southern Cross to describe quartz).

These Cratons have floated across the Earth’s surface over billions of years, at times colliding with other pieces of crust, amalgamating and rifting apart, before arriving at their present arrangement as part of Western Australia.

The Yilgarn Craton was once blanketed by thick sheets of ice during the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation from about 320–280 million years ago. These glaciers ground down and flattened out the topography in large areas of the Yilgarn Craton.

Since that time it has never been completely covered by the sea and has seen no glaciers or mountain building activity.