Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

has the longest coastline of any state or territory in Australia, at 10,194 km or 12,889 km (20,781 km including islands). It is a significant portion of the

coastline of Australia The coastline of Australia comprises the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania. It nominally includes a part of all Australian states and territories; the otherwise landlocked Australian Capital Territory has a coastal enclave at Jervis B ...

, which is 35,877 km (59,736 km including islands). The earliest full charting of the coastline occurred during exploration in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The coastline has some features or organisms that are found on the entire length, while some others are specific to particular coastal regions. Various government map posters have been created over time, which have examples of coastal form, or types of coast such as the 1984 map with photos.

Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia (IMCRA)

The IMCRA has offshore regions delineated in a systematic appraisal of ecology and geography.

Coastal regions used in weather reports

Standard

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

reports include the following reference points for coastal weather reports: *North Kimberley Coast: WA/NT border (or to Kuri Bay *West Kimberley Coast:

Kuri Bay Kuri Bay is a remote coastal bay in the far north of Western Australia in the Kimberley region, about north of Broome. It is a designated point on the Western Australian Forecast Areas, utilised by the Bureau of Meteorology as a boundary for ...

Wallal Wallal is the location of a bore in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The bore is located from the Great Northern Highway between Port Hedland and Broome and has an elevation of . The nearest town is Marble Bar, south of the bor ...

( Kimberley land region) *Pilbara Coast East: Wallal Downs to

Cape Preston Cape Preston is a rocky headland located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, situated West South West of Karratha. It lies on the tribal land of the indigenous Nhuwala. Cape Preston is a standard Bureau of Meteorology reference point ...

(

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

land region) *Pilbara Coast West: Cape Preston to

North West Cape North West Cape is a peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia. Cape Range runs down the spine of the peninsula and Ningaloo Reef runs along the western edge. It is in the Gascoyne region and includes the town of Exmouth. History In 16 ...

(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 Bremer may refer to: People *Bremer (surname) * Bremer Ehrler (born 1914), American politician * Bremer (born 1997), Brazilian footballer Places ;Australia *Bremer Bay, Western Australia * Bremer Marine Park *Bremer Island * Bremer River (disambig ...

( 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 has 8 coastal regions, while the 2003 ''Coastal Planning and Management Manual'' has five regions with component sections: * 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

Fisheries bioregions

Under the ''Fish Resources Management Act 1994'' there are four main regions on the Western Australian coast. *North Coast (Pilbara/Kimberley): from the

Western Australian Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and Northern Territory border to 114° 50' E 21° 46' S, just west of the mouth of the Ashburton River *Gascoyne Coast: from 114° 50' E 21° 46' S, just west of the mouth of the Ashburton River Mouth to 27° S – about halfway between Kalbarri and Denham *West Coast: from 27° S: about halfway between Kalbarri and Denham south to 115 ° 30' E – Black Point east of

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders ...

*South Coast: from 115 ° 30' E: Black Point east of

, 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 The Eucla Basin is an artesian depression located in Western Australia and South Australia. The onshore-offshore depression covers approximately 1,141,000 km² and slopes southward to an open bay known as the Great Australian Bight. It ext ...

– Eucla – Israelite Bay – Limestone *

Yilgarn Craton The Yilgarn Craton is a large craton that constitutes the bulk of the Western Australian land mass. It is bounded by a mixture of sedimentary basins and Proterozoic fold and thrust belts. Zircon grains in the Jack Hills, Narryer Terrane have b ...

– Point Malcolm – Cape Arid and Point Hood to Point D'Entrecasteaux * Bremer Basin – Israelite Bay – Point D'Entrecasteaux *

Perth Basin The Perth Basin is a thick, elongated sedimentary basin in Western Australia. It lies beneath the Swan Coastal Plain west of the Darling Scarp, representing the western limit of the much older Yilgarn Craton, and extends further west offshore. C ...

– Augusta – Murchison River * Carnarvon Basin – Murchison River – Cape Preston *

Pilbara craton The Pilbara Craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Pilbara Craton is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the ...

– Cape Preston – Port Hedland * Canning Basin – Port Hedland – King Sound * Kimberley Basin – Kimberley Coast * Bonaparte Basin –

Cambridge Gulf Cambridge Gulf is a gulf on the north coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Many rivers flow into the gulf, including the Ord River, Pentecost River, Durack River, King River and the Forrest River, making the environment an ...

Gulfs

Admiralty Gulf Admiralty Gulf is a gulf in the Kimberley region of Western Australia that opens into the Indian Ocean. Description The Gulf is bounded by the Bougainville Peninsula to the north and Bigge Point to the south. The nearest populated place is K ...

Exmouth Gulf Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north-west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the Pilbara Coast and Northwest Shelf, and the Carnarvon Basin geolog ...

Joseph Bonaparte Gulf Joseph Bonaparte Gulf is a large body of water off the coast of the Northern Territory and Western Australia and part of the Timor Sea. It was named after Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and King of Naples (1806-1808) and then Spain (1808 ...

Sounds

Specifically referring to Sound (geography) *

Camden Sound Camden Sound is a relatively wide body of water in the Indian Ocean located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Sound is bounded by the Bonaparte Archipelago to the north-east, the Buccaneer Archipelago to the south-west, and M ...

* Cockburn Sound *

King Sound King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about long, and averages about in width. The port town ...

* Yampi Sound * York Sound *

King George Sound King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...

Archipelagoes and island groups

Archipelago of the Recherche The Archipelago of the Recherche, known locally as the Bay of Isles, is a group of 105 islands, and over 1200 "obstacles to shipping", off the south coast of Western Australia. The islands stretch from east to west and to off-shore encomp ...

Bonaparte Archipelago The Bonaparte Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia in the Kimberley region, within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley. The closest inhabited place is Kalumburu located about to the east of the island group. T ...

Buccaneer Archipelago The Buccaneer Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia near the town of Derby in the Kimberley region. The closest inhabited place is Bardi located about from the western end of the island group. , a new marine ...

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral ...

Monte Bello Islands The Montebello Islands, also rendered as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands (about 92 of which are named) lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. The islands f ...

* Thevenard Island * Direction Island (Exmouth Gulf)

Aquatic flora

The Western Australian coastline has the greatest diversity of

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the or ...

es in the world, and the meadows they form are among the largest on earth.Rippey, Elizabeth and Rowland, Barbara (2004) ''Coast plants:Perth and the south-west region'' Second Edition. University of Western Australia Press. Crawley, Western Australia. . page 245 – also ''Part Three: Descriptions and Illustrations of the Seagrasses'' pp.243-260 *

Amphibolis antarctica ''Amphibolis antarctica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Cymodoceaceae. It is referred to by the common names wire weedRippey, Elizabeth and Rowland, Barbara (2004) ''Coastal Plants: Perth and the south-west region'' Second Editio ...

, Wireweed, Sea Nymph *

Amphibolis griffithii ''Amphibolis griffithii'' is a seagrass found in waters along the southwestern coasts of Western Australia, extending to Encounter Bay in South Australia . Description A common marine herb, the rhizomatous plant forms meadows which stabilise sa ...

Halophila australis ''Halophila australis'', the paddle weed, is a species of seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae Hydrocharitaceae is a flowering plant family including 16 known genera with a total of ca 135 known species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016), that inc ...

*Halophila decipiens *

Halophila ovalis ''Halophila ovalis'', commonly known as paddle weed, spoon grass or dugong grass, is a seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It is a small herbaceous plant that occurs in sea beds and other saltwater environments in the Indo-Pacific. The fir ...

, Paddle Weed, Sea Wrack *Heterozostera tasmanica *Posidonia angustifolia *

Posidonia australis ''Posidonia australis'', also known as fibre-ball weed or ribbon weed, is a species of seagrass that occurs in the southern waters of Australia. It forms large meadows important to environmental conservation. Balls of decomposing detritus from ...

, Fireball Weed *

Posidonia coriacea ''Posidonia coriacea'' is a species of seagrass that occurs in the southern waters of Australia. Description A species of ''Posidonia''. A perennial rhizomatous herb that appears as stands in marine habitat. This species is found at depths fro ...

*Posidonia denhartogii * Posidonia robertsoniae *Posidonia sinuosa *Syringodium isoetifolium *Thalassodendron pachyrhizum

Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia (IMCRA)

Coastal regions used in weather reports

General coastal regions

Ports, settlements and towns

Fisheries bioregions

Features

Gulfs

Sounds

Archipelagoes and island groups

Aquatic flora

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

Flora

Conferences

Locations

Government reports