Fossilised Tracks

These fossilised tracks, found along the Murchison River, were left in the sandy bed of an ancient river flat around 440 million years ago. At that time, the area north of Geraldton was a network of rivers flowing into the sea. Layers of sand deposited here have since hardened into what we now call the Tumblagooda Sandstone, famously exposed in the Kalbarri Gorges.

The tracks and burrows preserved in this rock tell an extraordinary story, the earliest evidence of animals leaving the water to explore the land. Among the creatures who left their mark were giant sea scorpions (eurypterids) and primitive arthropods like the euthycarcinoid Kalbarria.

Press the button to your left to discover the creature that made these ancient footprints and take a step back into a world before life had fully conquered the land.