#centre This information is from display boards in the area. is not known
About 4600 years ago, when rising red-hot molten rock met rocks containing water, steam formed and rocks and lava were then blasted high into the air. Powdered rock (ash) fell around the crater edges. Over time, the weight of the ash bonded the layers.
The above diagram illustrates the ash wall which divides Valley Lake (left) from Leg of Mutton Lake.
#centre #img dsc_7560-detail.jpeg Cross section of ground underneath the lakes is not known
The Leg of Mutton Lake crater formed about 4500 years ago near the
end of volcanic activity in the area. Like the Blue Lake, the crater
was formed by explosive eruptions depositing layers of ash.
The wall and floor of the crater are composed of semi-bonded layers of ash.
Leg of Mutton Lake, 1913.
The well laid out nursery can be seen at the northern end of
the lake with a stone workshed at centre.
The photo shows the floor of the crater was occupied by a shallow lake which hada leg of mutton shape. With falling water levels over the last century, the original lake has disappeared.
A stone cottage was built for the firsr nurseryman, Charles Beale, on the northern crater rim overlooking the lake and a stone workshed was erected at the nursery.
The trial plantings included the then little known Pinus insignis (now known was Pinus radiata) , which has since become the State's major softwood plantation timber. This timber is the district's major industry and was due to the vision of Francis Kay in the early 1900s. Kay's first planting of 400 acres of plantation pines in 1909 was a remarkable achievement. Since then the State Government and private companies have established large areas of radiata pine.
The Leg of Mutton Lake crater formed about 4500 years ago near the end of volcanic activity in the area. Like the Blue Lake, the crater was formed by explosive eruptions depositing layers of ash. The wall and floor of the crater are composed of semi-bonded layers of ash.