Omari Gates
Australia is a country with a diverse range of landscapes, from tropical conditions in the Kimberley region to deserts in the interior. The western core area of Australia is known geologically as a shield or craton and is characterised by fractures that form uplands and lowlands. Western Australia, the westernmost state of Australia, has a range of landscapes, including plateaus, mesas, and buttes. The outer margins of Western Australia are characterised by marginal plateaus and stranded continental blocks. The western margin of Australia, which is around 3000 km long, is also dominated by marginal plateaus.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Geographical location | Western Australia |
| Composition | Sandstone, granite, ironstone, limestone, volcanic rocks |
| Age | Up to 3.6 billion years old |
| Climate | Arid or semi-arid |
| Landforms | Uluru, Kaja Tjuta, The Great Sandy Desert, The Great Victorian Desert, The Kimberleys, Hamersley, Yilgarn Craton, Pilbara Craton |
| Tectonic activity | Stable |
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What You'll Learn
The Western Plateau
In the Kimberleys and the Mueller Range, extensive outcrops of flat-lying sandstone have been eroded to form isolated rock features known as plateaus, mesas, and buttes. Similar landforms can be found in the Pilbara and Arnhem Land regions, where massive ironstone formations and sandstones create prominent bluffs bordering the plateau assemblages. The Darling Range in the far southwest is an example of an upfaulted block, underlain by granite but capped by laterite, a reddish iron-rich product of weathering rock.
The Gawler block in the southeast also presents a complex mix of landscapes, with crystalline and sandstone uplands, sandstone plateaus, and the ancient Gawler Ranges formed from Precambrian volcanic rocks. The lowlands between these raised blocks showcase varied topography, including numerous low isolated granite rocks called inselbergs, which stand out above the plain.
The Barkly Tableland, located within the Western Plateau, is an example of a high plain formed by the erosion of Cambrian sedimentary rocks. The Nullarbor Plain, a karst area, is notable for its exceptionally flat surface, allowing for a straight 300-mile stretch of the Trans-Australian Railway. The Gibson Desert is another example of a laterite-capped plain within the Western Plateau.
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Sandstone plateaus in the Darling Range
Australia does have western plateaus and margins. In the far southwest, the Darling Range forms an upfaulted block underlain mainly by granite but capped by laterite, a reddish, iron-rich product of weathering rock. The Darling Range is also known as the Darling Scarp, which forms the eastern boundary of the Perth Basin. The scarp is part of the Jarrah Forest bioregion, and its natural vegetation is predominantly jarrah-marri forest, with bullich and blackbutt in the valleys. The Darling Range ghost gum is endemic to the western slopes of the scarp, while low woodlands of Banksia grow on sand sheets.
The scarp has been exploited for stone quarries, forestry, and bauxite mining. In the early twentieth century, most of the main rivers flowing off the escarpment were used for dams to supply water to Perth. The scarp also defines the easternmost limit of the various aquifers present in the Perth Basin sediments, notably the Southwest Yarragadee Aquifer. The only free-flowing water from the Darling Range in the Peel Region is the Dirk Brook in Keysbrook and the Murray River.
The Darling Scarp has also presented challenges for aircraft using Perth Airport due to strong easterly winds during hot summers. On September 2, 1999, a Qantas Boeing 747 coming from Sydney experienced wind shear caused by rolling winds on the Darling Scarp, causing its engine to strike the runway during landing.
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The Precambrian western core area
The term "Precambrian" refers to the earliest period in Earth's history, spanning from the formation of the Earth around 4.6 billion years ago to the beginning of the Cambrian Period approximately 541 million years ago. This era accounts for about 88% of the Earth's geologic time, and during this period, the Earth's landmasses were distributed differently from what they are today. The Precambrian period is informally divided into three eons: the Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic.
The Precambrian rocks in Australia provide valuable insights into the early history of the Earth and the development of life. Fossils discovered in these ancient rocks indicate that primitive life forms existed approximately 3.5 billion years ago, and well-preserved microscopic fossils of bacteria dating back 3.46 billion years have been found in Western Australia. The interpretation of Precambrian fossils can be challenging, but they offer glimpses into the evolution of life on our planet.
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The outer frontier margins
The Western Plateau, also known geologically as a shield or craton, makes up about one-third of the Australian continent. It is a large mass of comparatively flat land that rises abruptly from the surrounding area. The plateau is made up of individual plateaus, including the Kimberley, Hamersley, and Yilgarn. These individual plateaus comprise cratons such as the Yilgarn Craton and the Pilbara Craton. The Western Plateau has existed as a landmass for over 500 million years and is made of ancient igneous and metamorphic rock, some of which are up to 3.6 billion years old.
The climate in the outer margins has been changing, with increasing aridity over the past 20 to 30 million years. This has had a significant impact on the region, particularly on the lakes and river systems, which have become drier and more dependent on water flows from the wetter margins of the continent. The Finke River, one of the oldest rivers in the world, is located in central Australia, and the salt lakes in the Yilgarn region are remnants of a drainage pattern that existed before continental drift separated Australia from Antarctica.
The Eastern Highlands, another major landform region of Australia, forms the eastern edge of the Western Plateau. This region includes a series of mountains in the south, such as Mount Kosciuszko, and volcanic plugs, ash domes, and flow remnants further north. The Eastern Highlands separate the rivers flowing to the west and north from those flowing to the Pacific Ocean.
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The Kimberleys
The Kimberley region was named in 1879 by government surveyor Alexander Forrest after Secretary of State for the Colonies John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley. The Kimberley was one of the earliest settled parts of Australia, with the first humans landing about 65,000 years ago. The Aboriginal people of the Kimberley recognise six traditional seasons based on meteorological events, as well as on observations of flora and fauna. The complex culture that developed over thousands of years included the creation of rock art, the invention of boomerangs, and the worship of Wandjina deities.
The Kimberley region was also explored by Dutch explorers during the 18th century, who named the region Kimberley and nearby Darwin variations of Van Diemen's Land, after the VOC governor-general Anthony van Diemen. In 1837, Lieutenants George Grey and Franklin Lushington, along with 12 men, sailed from Cape Town, South Africa, and reached Hanover Bay. They began their inland exploration in January 1838 but faced many challenges, including hostile Aboriginals.
The Kimberley Plateau is composed of flat-lying massive sandstone that has been dissected to give rise to striking isolated rock features known as plateaus, mesas, and buttes. The local landforms are controlled by local joints and bedding planes in the rocks, combined with the permeable nature of the bedrock. The geology of the Kimberley region is fascinating. The area was formed in a slow tectonic plate collision during the Paleoproterozoic era, 2.5–1.6 billion years ago. The Kimberley Craton, moving south-eastwards, collided with the North Australia Craton, resulting in a series of deformations that created the Hooper Complex and Lamboo Complex. During the Proterozoic and Early Phanerozoic eons, the region experienced phases of mountain building (orogeny), faulting, and sedimentary basin formation. The two cratons eventually joined to become a single craton, and shallow marine and river sediments were deposited on the Kimberley Craton, forming the Speewah Basin and the Kimberley Basin.
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Frequently asked questions
Western Australia has a diverse range of climates, including tropical conditions in the Kimberley, which is also home to extensive outcrops of flat-lying massive sandstone that have been dissected to give rise to striking isolated rock features known as plateaus, mesas, and buttes.
The western continental margin of Australia is dominated by marginal plateaus. The entire margin has a near-surface structure of an inshore or coastal graben, filled mainly with about 10 km of Permian and Mesozoic nonmarine and shallow marine detrital sediments and minor alkaline volcanics.
Western Australia has a geological history dating back to 4.4 billion years ago when Hadean zircons were formed. The earliest direct known life on land, known as stromatolites, started to be created by microbes at around 3.48 billion years ago.
