Murphys Haystacks are a series of magnificent inselberg rock formations located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, between the towns of Streaky Bay and Port Kenny. Geologically, these formations are composed of pink, coarsely granular Hiltaba granite, dating back an astonishing 1.5 billion years.
The name originates from a charming piece of local folklore, where a traveler mistook the weathered, rounded pillars for giant stacks of hay on the property of a farmer named Murphy.
These remarkable structures, some of which stand up to eight meters high, have been sculpted over millions of years by the forces of erosion, first by underground rainwater and later by surface weathering after their exposure, resulting in their unique, tumulus-like shapes.
