Origin, geomorphology and geoheritage potential of Australia’s longest coastal cliff lines

Abstract

Two spectacular cliff lines occur along Australia’s south and west coasts: the Great Southern Scarp (new name) and the Zuytdorp Cliffs. Detailed measurements of their length show that they are exceptionally long and unusually continuous. The Great Southern Scarp is the southern edge of the Nullarbor Plain’s Bunda Plateau; it is cut into shallow marine sediments and extends for 820 km. Once a continuous sea-cliff, local uplift has isolated two sections from the ocean, so it now comprises the Bunda Cliffs (210 km of coastal cliff, 180 km of which is uninterrupted cliff line), Hampton Range (inland; 300 km), Baxter Cliffs (160 km of coastal cliff) and Wylie Scarp (inland; 160 km). The Zuytdorp Cliffs are coastal cliffs cut into eolianite, and extend for 210 km with an uninterrupted section of 120 km. The length of the Great Southern Scarp and the Zuytdorp Cliffs results from an unusual combination of circumstances. They are both composed of poorly jointed, relatively homogenous biogenic calcarenites, presented to high-energy ocean waves by regional uplift. The carbonates are sufficiently well cemented to maintain a steep vertical cliff face, but susceptible to disintegration under direct wave attack. Cliff retreat has been fairly uniform because of the broad spatial scale of both lithology and erosion. The arid climate, absence of nearby non-karstic catchments and karstic nature of the cliffs’ hinterlands has discouraged integrated drainage development, so no significant fluvial systems dissect the cliffs; this is a key factor in cliff edge preservation. In the case of the Great Southern Scarp, these processes have formed the longest continuous cliff line in Australia and probably the world. Referenced against criteria from Australia’s National Heritage List, the cliffs have potentially international/national levels of significance for the rarity of their scale, their demonstration of landscape evolution, and their spectacular beauty.

KEY POINTS

1. Australia’s longest coastal cliffs, the Bunda (SA) and Zuytdorp (WA) cliffs, are equal in length (210 km, within defined confidence levels).

2. The Bunda Cliffs are part of the Great Southern Scarp (new name), an 820 km-long feature of the Nullarbor Plain that also includes the coastal Baxter Cliffs (160 km in length) and two paleocoastal scarps.

3. The unusual continuity of the cliff lines results from a landscape history specific to the Australian continent, and the Great Southern Scarp is likely to be unusual on a global scale.

4. The Great Southern Scarp and the Zuytdorp Cliffs have potentially national and/or international levels significance for geoheritage values in the criteria of events and processes, rarity and aesthetics.

Keywords:

• calcarenite
• geomorphology
• geoheritage
• arid karst
• rocky coast
• arid coast
• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Nullarbor
• Shark Bay

Acknowledgements

We thank Geoscience Australia for making digital elevation grids available. The authors would like to thank Carmen Krapf and Andrew D. Short for their insightful comments, Dr Susan White for information on Australia’s carbonate coastlines and for reviewing the original manuscript, and Dr Roger Hocking for information on the geology of WA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).