Cape Borda is a headland in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located in the gazetted locality of Cape Borda on the north west tip of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

about west of the municipal seat of Kingscote. It was named after

Jean-Charles de Borda Jean-Charles, chevalier de Borda (4 May 1733 – 19 February 1799) was a French mathematician, physicist, and Navy officer. Biography Borda was born in the city of Dax to Jean‐Antoine de Borda and Jeanne‐Marie Thérèse de Lacroix. In 175 ...

(1733–1799), the French mathematician, physicist, naturalist and sailor, by the

Baudin expedition to Australia The Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1803 was a French expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia). Nicolas Baudin was selected as leader in October 1800. The expedition started with two ships, '' Géographe'', captained by Baudin, an ...

during January 1803. It has been the site of an operating

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

since 1858 and is currently located within the

Flinders Chase National Park Flinders Chase National Park (formerly Flinders Chase) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and west of the municipal ...

Description

Cape Borda is located in the gazetted locality of Cape Borda about west of Kingscote. It is the most north westerly point of the Kangaroo Island coast. It is the termination for a pair of coastlines – the western coastline extending from

Cape du Couedic Cape du Couedic is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southwest tip of Kangaroo Island in the locality of Flinders Chase. It was named after a French naval officer, , by the Baudin expedition to Australia dur ...

in the south and the northern coastline extending from

Point Marsden Point Marsden (also called Marsden Point) is a headland located on the north coast of Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It was named after William Marsden, Second Secretary to the Admiralty by Matthew Flinders in 1802. It is the western ...

in the east. It is described as ‘a bold cliffy headland, high’ with ‘the upper half of the cliff is formed of white limestone, and the lower half is very dark volcanic rock’ and that ‘the hills at the cape rise to a height of more than and are covered with small scrub.’

Formation, geology & oceanography

Cape Borda was formed when the sea reached its present level 7,500 years ago after sea levels started to rise at the start of the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

. The cliff line which includes Cape Borda consists of base strata of a metasandstone belonging to the

Kanmantoo group The Kanmantoo group is a label for the kind of rocks found predominantly along the eastern side of the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, including Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. Examples of where they are visible at the surface include several ...

bedrock such as Middleton Sandstone and Balquhidder Formation, overlaid by a relatively thick capping of Bridgewater Formation

calcarenite Calcarenite is a type of limestone that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, of detrital (transported) sand-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter), carbonate grains. The grains consist of sand-size grains of either corals, shells, ooi ...

rock. The water adjoining the cliff face at Cape Borda drops to depths ranging between to .

History

Aboriginal use

By 1999, the literature had not cited any archaeological discoveries specific to Aboriginal use of land in the immediate vicinity of Cape Borda.

European discovery

Cape Borda was named in January 1803 by the Baudin expedition of 1800-03 in the memory of Jean-Charles de Borda (1733–1799), the French mathematician, physicist, naturalist and sailor.

Navigation aid

The lighthouse at Cape Borda was the third of three provided for by legislation; the others being erected at

Cape Willoughby Cape Willoughby is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located on the east end of the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island in the gazetted locality of Willoughby about south east of the town of Penneshaw. The cape is described ...

and

Troubridge Shoals Troubridge Island is an island located in the south west corner of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia near the eastern edge of the Troubridge Shoals off the east coast of Yorke Peninsula about southeast by east of the town of Edithburgh It is ...

(now called

Troubridge Island Troubridge Island is an island located in the south west corner of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia near the eastern edge of the Troubridge Shoals off the east coast of Yorke Peninsula about southeast by east of the town of Edithburgh It is ...

). The light was officially lit on 13 July 1858 and was named the ‘Flinders Light’ in August 1858 in memory of

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

Fauna

The coast near the Cape Borda lighthouse previously supported colonies of

little penguins The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian ...

which are now believed to be extinct. Causes for local extinction are likely to include (but not be limited to)

predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

by increasing

New Zealand fur seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...

populations and changes in prey availability.

Protected area status

Cape Borda is currently located within the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

known as the Flinders Chase National Park. As of 2012, the waters surrounding its shores are part of a sanctuary zone located within the boundaries of the

Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park __NOTOC__ Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park (formerly Western Kangaroo Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is a marine protected area located south of South Australia in waters within the Australian Exclusive economic zone to the south-west ...

Climate

References

External links

Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources official page for Cape Borda Lightstation
* {{AusplacesnamedbyFrench , state=collapsed

Borda Borda may refer to: *Qaṣīda al-Burda, a famous Sufi poem. * Borda (building) or borde, traditional cattle farmers' buildings in the Pyrenees, a barn, sheepfold, or stable * Places in India ** Borda, Goa, a town and suburb of the city of Margao ...

Investigator Strait