Mount Scoria is a mountain that was a basalt plug of a small volcano. The cooling process created angular columns with between five to eight sides.
The shapes started as cracks in a similar fashion cracks form in dry mud. The cracks grew deeper as the lava below cooled to form the columns.
Mount Scoria is known as Dangama Mungar to the Gangulu people, meaning “talking mountain”, and was created by the Wunjanbara Bunna, meaning “giant man”, when he stopped to sleep because he was so big.
When the columns are hit on the tops with a hammer, the columns make a musical note with varying pitch.
Located 6 kilometres from Thangool, Mt Scoria Conservation Park has a great day use area with picnic tables, BBQs and toilets.
A walking track leads from the day use area to the mountain and around the base with information boards along the way. There is no track leading to the peak and climbing it is discouraged as it is a sacred site for the Gangulu people.
To get there:
From Burnett Hwy at Thangool, turn into Winston St with the brown sign for Mt Scoria Conservation Park and follow 1.6km through to the end, which becomes Aerodrome Rd. Turn left into Thangool Lookerbie Rd and continue for 5.2km. The entrance to Mt Scoria Conservation Park is on the right, and the parking area is about 150m in from the entrance.
