Coastal regions of Western Australia
Commonly used Bureau of Meteorology coastal landmarks
Western Australia has the longest coastline of any state in Australia, at 10,194 km [1] or 12,889 km.[2]
Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia (IMCRA)
The IMCRA has offshore regions delineated in a systematic appraisal of ecology and geography.[3]
Coastal regions used in weather reports
Standard Bureau of Meteorology reports include the following reference points for coastal weather reports:[4]
- North Kimberley Coast - WA/NT border (or Wyndham) to Kuri Bay
- West Kimberley Coast - Kuri Bay to Wallal (Kimberley land region)
- Pilbara Coast East - Wallal Downs to Cape Preston (Pilbara land region)
- Pilbara Coast West - Cape Preston to North West Cape (Pilbara land region)
- Ningaloo Coast - Northwest Cape to Carnarvon (Gascoyne land region)
- Gascoyne Coast - north of Carnarvon to Kalbarri (Gascoyne land region)
- Geraldton Coast - north of Kalbarri to Jurien Bay (Central west land region)
- Lancelin Coast - Jurien Bay to Two Rocks (Lower west land region)
- Perth Local Waters - Two Rocks to Dawesville (Lower west land region and/or Perth Metropolitan region)
- Perth Coast - west of Rottnest and Perth Local Waters (same limits of Two Rocks and Dawesville)
- Bunbury Geographe Coast - Dawesville to Busselton, (part lower west and part south west land region)
- Leeuwin Coast - Busselton to west of Denmark (South west land region)
- Albany Coast - west of Denmark to Bremer Bay (south coast coastal land region)
- Esperance Coast - Bremer Bay to Israelite Bay (Southeast coastal land region)
- Eucla Coast - Israelite Bay to SA Border (Eucla land region)
General coastal regions
There are groupings for wider regions that are based very close to the land regions - one made in the 1980s[5] has 8 coastal regions, while the 2003 Coastal Planning and Management Manual has five regions with component sections:[6]
- Kimberley Coast - Northern Territory / Western Australia border to Broome (2003 manual, Figure 2-2 Pilbara Kimberley Region)
- Canning - Broome to Port Hedland (Cape Keraudren - east of the De Grey River delta in the 2003 manual)
- Pilbara Coast - Port Hedland to Onslow
- Coral Coast or Gascoyne region - Onslow to Kalbarri (Shark Bay in the 2003 manual)
- Kalbarri to Cape Naturaliste - which includes, Batavia Coast, the Central West also known as the Turquoise Coast and another further south known at the Sunset Coast
- South West Capes - Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin (to Albany in the 2003 manual)
- South Coast - Cape Leeuwin to Israelite Bay - incorporates the coastal region between Cape Leeuwin and Windy Harbour, usually considered part of the south west
- South Coast Region or the South East - Israelite Bay (Albany in the 2003 manual) to the Western Australia / South Australian Border (Eucla)
Ports, settlements and towns
- See Category:Coastal towns in Western Australia and Category:Port cities in Australia
Fisheries bioregions
Under the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 there are four main regions on the Western Australian coast.[7]
- North Coast (Pilbara/Kimberley) from the Western Australian and Northern Territory border to 114° 50' E 21° 46' S, just west of the mouth of the Ashburton River Mouth
- Gascoyne Coast[8] from 114° 50' E 21° 46' S, just west of the mouth of the Ashburton River Mouth to 27° S - about half way between Kalbarri and Denham
- West Coast from 27° S - about half way between Kalbarri and Denham south to 115 ° 30' E - Black Point east of Cape Leeuwin
- South Coast from 115 ° 30' E - Black Point east of Cape Leeuwin, to the South Australian Border
Features
The coastal regions include a range of beaches, cliffs, and coastline features that are dependent upon the underlying geology; the geological provinces have direct relationship to the coastal forms:
- Eucla Basin - Eucla - Israelite Bay - Limestone
- Yilgarn Craton - Point Malcolm - Cape Arid and Point Hood to Point D'Entrecasteaux
- Bremer Basin - Israelite Bay - Point D'Entrecasteaux
- Perth Basin - Augusta - Murchison River
- Carnarvon Basin - Murchison River - Cape Preston
- Pilbara craton - Cape Preston - Port Hedland
- Canning Basin - Port Hedland - King Sound
- Kimberley Basin - Kimberley Coast
- Bonaparte Basin - Cambridge Gulf
Gulfs
Sounds
Specifically referring to Sound (geography)
Archipelagoes and island groups
- Archipelago of the Recherche
- Bonaparte Archipelago
- Buccaneer Archipelago
- Houtman Abrolhos
- Monte Bello Islands
Aquatic flora
The Western Australian coastline has the greatest diversity of seagrasses in the world, and the meadows they form are among the largest on earth.[9]
- Amphibolis antarctica, Wireweed, Sea Nymph
- Amphibolis griffithii
- Halophila australis
- Halophila decipiens
- Halophila ovalis, Paddle Weed, Sea Wrack
- Heterozostera tasmanica
- Posidonia angustifolia
- Posidonia australis, Fireball Weed
- Posidonia coriacea
- Posidonia denhartogii
- Posidonia robertsoniae
- Posidonia sinuosa
- Syringodium isoetifolium
- Thalassodendron pachyrhizum
See also
Australian context
Local features:-
- List of islands of Western Australia, 0–9, A–C and subsequent sections
- List of watercourses in Western Australia
Regional divisions:-
- Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia
- Ecoregions in Australia
- Regions of Western Australia
Plants and natural history:-
References
- ↑ Short, Andrew D (2005)Beaches of the Western Australian Coast: Eucla to Roeback Bay ISBN 0-9586504-3-8. page 1
- ↑ "Coastline Lengths". Geoscience Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ↑ http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mbp/imcra/index.html
- ↑ See the map at http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/wa/wa-forecast-map.shtml for locations of the coastal forecast boundary locations
- ↑ Woods, P.J and Eliot, Ian (1980) The Western Australian Coast being Number 6 of Coastal Management in Western Australia Bulletin Number 49 of the Department of Conservation and Environment
- ↑ print form: Western Australian Planning Commission.(2003) Coastal planning and management manual : a community guide for protecting and conserving the West Australian Coast Perth, W.A. : Western Australian Planning Commission. ISBN 0-7309-9383-3 - http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b2151782~S2: web-based pdfs = http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/Plans+and+policies/Publications/312.aspx
- ↑ Recreational fishing guides published by the Department of Fisheries (W.A.) in September 2008 map titled 'Western Australia's Fisheries Bioregions'
- ↑ Not to be confused with the tourist coast region which might have slightly different start and finish points from the fisheries designated coast
- ↑ Rippey, Elizabeth and Rowland, Barbara (2004) Coast plants:Perth and the south-west region Second Edition. University of Western Australia Press. Crawley, Western Australia. ISBN 1-920694-05-6. page 245 - also Part Three: Descriptions and Illustrations of the Seagrasses pp.243-260
Further reading
Flora
- Rippey, Elizabeth and Rowland, Barbara (2004) Coastal Plants: Perth and the south-west region Second Edition, Crawley, W.A. University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 1-920694-05-6
Conferences
- WA State Coastal Conference (3rd : 2005 : Mandurah, Bunbury and Busselton, W.A.)
Title 3rd WA State Coastal Conference, Mandurah - Bunbury - Busselton, November 2005 : coastal solutions : balancing the waves of change : program and papers. Canning Bridge, W.A. : Promaco Conventions Pty Ltd, 2005. ISBN 1-86308-126-7
Locations
- Murray, Ian and Marion Hercock (2008) Where on the Coast is That? Victoria Park, Western Australia. Hesperian Press. ISBN 978-0-85905-452-2
Government reports
- Department of Conservation and Land Management, 1994: A Representative Marine Reserves
- System for Western Australia: Report of the Marine Parks and Reserves Selection Working Group (the Wilson Report).
- Government of Western Australia, 1998: New Horizons: the Way Ahead in Marine Conservation and Management.
- Government of Western Australia, 2002b: Focus on the Future: the Western Australian State Sustainability Strategy, Consultation Draft.
- Government of Western Australia, 2002c: A Biodiversity Conservation Act for Western Australia, Consultation Paper.
- Western Australian Planning Commission, 2001: Coastal Zone Management Policy for Western Australia, for public comment.
- Western Australian Planning Commission, 2002: Coastal Planning Program - Status of Coastal Planning in Western Australia 2001/02.
- Western Australian Planning Commission, 2003a: Statement of Planning Policy No. 2.6: StateCoastal Planning Policy.
- Western Australian Planning Commission, 2003b: Coastal Planning and Management Manual
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