Naracoorte Caves National Park
The limestone in the area was formed by corals and other marine life 200 million years ago when it was below sea level and again about 20 million years ago when the land was again below sea level. Since then, groundwater has loosened part of the limestone, creating the caves. These caves, like the Victoria Fossil Cave or the Blanche Cave, are often not far underground and holes opened up that posed dangers to the unwary. This created a remarkable collection of fossils. Mammals and other land creatures fell into the open holes and were unable to escape. The fossils were preserved in banks of earth washed and blown from the surface of the earth. In some places the fossil-bearing layer is up to 20 m thick. Some of these areas will be saved for future exploration when better methods of dating and reconstructing fossil records become available. The fossil traps are particularly important for research into the Australian megafauna.