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Tamala Limestone is the geological name given to the widely occurring
eolianite Eolianite or aeolianite is any rock formed by the lithification of sediment deposited by aeolian processes; that is, the wind. In common use, however, the term refers specifically to the most common form of eolianite: coastal limestone consisting ...
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
deposits on the western coastline of
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 ...
, between
Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...
in the north and nearly to Albany in the south. The rock consists of
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 ...
wind-blown shell fragments and
quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
sand which accumulated as coastal sand dunes during the middle and late
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
and early
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 ...
eras. As a result of a process of sedimentation and water percolating through the shelly sands, the mixture later
lithified Lithification (from the Ancient Greek word ''lithos'' meaning 'rock' and the Latin-derived suffix ''-ific'') is the process in which sediments compact under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid rock. Essentially, lithificati ...
when the lime content dissolved to cement the grains together. Exposed limestone formations at
The Pinnacles Desert The Pinnacles are limestone formations within Nambung National Park, near the town of Cervantes, Western Australia. Features The area contains thousands of weathered limestone pillars. Some of the tallest pinnacles reach heights of up to 3.5 ...
near
Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
clearly show the limestone formation through the sedimentary process. At its thickest, the Tamala Limestone comprises the massive
Zuytdorp Cliffs The Zuytdorp Cliffs extend for about along a rugged, spectacular and little visited segment of the Western Australian Indian Ocean coast. The cliffs extend from just south of the mouth of the Murchison River at Kalbarri, to Pepper Point sou ...
, up to 250 m high, extending for 150 km between
Kalbarri, Western Australia Kalbarri is a coastal town in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region located north of Perth, Western Australia. The town is located at the mouth of the Murchison River (Western Australia), Murchison River which has an elevation of . ...
and south of
Steep Point Steep Point () is the westernmost point of mainland Australia. It is located within the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, north of the state's capital Perth, in the proposed Edel Land National Park. It is also a part of the Shark Bay ...
.


Commercial uses

Because of its ready availability, Tamala Limestone is used extensively for landscaping and building in Western Australia and particularly for the main population centre of
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. The two main sub-types quarried commercially are Carabooda Limestone and Moore River Limestone. The Carabooda type is from the
Wanneroo Wanneroo is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Wanneroo. Geography As it is on the Swan Coastal Plain, the Wanneroo wetlands stretch parallel to the coastline and to the north and south of the suburb. Education W ...
/
Yanchep Yanchep is an outer coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, north of the Perth CBD. It is a part of the City of Wanneroo local government area. Originally a small crayfishing settlement, it was developed by entrepreneur Alan Bond in the 1 ...
region close to Perth. It has a creamier colour and is slightly denser than Moore River limestone which comes from the area around Guilderton and which is darker and more textured.


Usage

A very selective list from a 1984 publication from the
Geological Survey of Western Australia The Geological Survey of Western Australia is an authority within the Department of Mines and Petroleum of the Government of Western Australia that is responsible for surveying and exploration of Western Australia's geological resources. The ...
. *
Perth Mint The Perth Mint is Australia's official bullion mint and wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Established on 20 June 1899, two years before Australia's Federation in 1901, the Perth Mint was the last of three Australian colonia ...
*
Old Perth Boys School The Old Perth Boys School, located at 139 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia, is the earliest government school building in Western Australia. The single-storey limestone building was designed by William Ayshford Sanford in 1852 and i ...
*
Old Perth Fire Station Old Perth Fire Station (Fire Brigade No. 1 Station) is located at 25 Murray Street, at its intersection with Irwin Street, in Perth, Western Australia. It was the first purpose-built fire station in Western Australia. It was opened in 1901 and ...
*
Perth Gaol The Perth Gaol (often referred to as the Old Perth Gaol) was a gaol built in Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, between 1854 and 1856 to house convicts and other prisoners. It is located just west of Beaufort Street. It operated unt ...
and Courthouse * Swan Barracks *
St Mary's Cathedral, Perth St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, officially the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth, and cathedra, seat of its Archbishop, currently Timothy Costelloe. ...
*
Winthrop Hall The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...


See also

*
List of types of limestone This is a list of types of limestone arranged according to location. It includes both formal stratigraphic unit names and less formal designations. Africa Egypt *Tura limestone, used for the Great Pyramid casing stones *Mokattam limestone; Gr ...


References

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Further reading

* Lipar, M., Webb, J.A., 2014. Middle–Late Pleistocene and Holocene chronostratigraphy and depositional history of the Tamala Limestone, Cooloongup and Safety Bay Sands, Nambung National Park, southwestern Western Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 61 (8), pp. 1023–1039. * Hearty, P.J., O'Leary, M.J., 2008. Carbonate aeolianites, quartz sands, and Quaternary sealevel cycles, Western Australia: a chronostratigraphic approach. Quaternary Geochronology 3, pp. 26–55. * Gozzard, J.R., 2007. Geology and Landforms of the Perth Region: Western Australia Geological Survey (126 pp.). Limestone formations Geology of Western Australia Geologic formations of Australia Pleistocene Australia Holocene Oceania Coastline of Western Australia