Shark Spotting and Stromatolites

What better place to spot sharks than in the crystal clear waters of Shark Bay?

We headed up the cliffs of Eagle Bluff with hopeful eyes.

Unfortunately we missed the sharks but that incredible turquoise water was a sight in itself.

I could have stared out to sea for hours but instead we nipped off to see where life began.

I'm now going to pretend I know an awful lot about science so just bear with me...

It may look like I'm just showing you pictures of underwater rocks but these are actually microbial mats, also known as stromatolites or 'living fossils'. 

These stromatolites are only around 2000-3000 years old but similar ecosystems have been around for over 3 billion years which is more 75% of the Earth's geological history.

The cyanobacteria or blue-green algae which makes up these 'living fossils' breathes oxygen into the atmosphere which has greatly affected evolution over the past 2 billion years.

To think that we came from living, breathing rocks in the sea. 

The world is a funny place.