tilrililtflilil[Iililill 022410 , I't,r'i r:it'" ,,' i ,.. '.:j.1;iiY ,:'ii, NSl fOn L0nf't I i.., . ,. .,,Lr;EltT L,jlSlliiii;riiSlfiAllA . GEOLOGICAL ANDGEOMORPHIC FEATURES ANDEVOLUTION OF THE LAKE MACLEOD - NINGALOO . CAPE RANGE . EXMOUTH GULF AREA, WESTERNAUSTRALIA

INCLUDING AN ASSESSMENTOF VALUES AGAINST WORLD HERITAGE LIST CRITERIA

A report prepared for the ARCHTvAL'partment of Conservation and Land Management, 551. Western Australia I (9413) RUS

PeterJ. Russell September2004 ()&79\O

' "'i ..rfr!.llt:n!. fr.rri r .. . ,: i i i ':" ir ':-' ':,il irfii lljl':i. ,1rt\ TABLE OF CONTENTS ' Li].',1 I EXECUTI\'E SUMMARY 2 INTRODUCTION

J RTPORT PIJRPOSE& OUTLINE 4 SOURCESOF INFORMATION AND LIIIITATIONS 8 5 GEOLOGICAL & GEOMORPHOLOGICAL ASPECTS 9

ASSESSMENTAGAINST WORLD IIERITAGE CRITERIA 3l

SYNTHESIS& CONCLUSIONS 44

Cover image: Pseudo-colour gravity dnomaly map of the westernportion of Australia; The image shows Bouguer anomalies onshore and free-air anomalies olfshore, The data are contrast enhanced and range from blue Qow) to red (high), wilh sun-angle illumination from the northwest (from Milligan, P. R., Petkovic, P. et al. 2003 p.133). LIST OF FIGURES

I Locationof the LakeMacleod - Ningaloo CapeRange - Exmouth Page6 Gulfarea

2 Location of the Northem and SouthemCamarvon Basins Paee9

3 Subdivisionsof theNorthem Camarvon Basin Pase11

4 Stratigraphy,megasequences and tectonic events ofthe offshore Page12 CamarvonBasin

5 Cuvier- GascoyneAbyssal Plains palaeogeographic reconstruction at Page13 138Ma

6 EasternTethys palaeogeographic reconstruction for the LateJurassic, Page14 Early and Late Cretaceous

7 Post-Jurassicstratigraphy of the onshoreNodhem CamarvonBasin Page15 8 Generalisedphysiography ofthe LakeMacleod - Ningaloo- Cape Page18 Range- ExmouthGulf area 9 Locationof themain anticlinal ranges in theLake Macleod - Ningaloo Page19 - CapeRange - ExmouthGulfarea

10 Cross-sectionshowing the main wave-cut terraces, Cape Range Page20 11 CapeRange hydrogeological cross-section Page22 12 CapeRange physiographic elements and drainage Page25

13 Map showingLake Macleod, BullaraSunkland and main anticlinal Page27 structures,Shark Bay to North West Capearea

14 Generaliseddistribution of sandplainsand dune fields, Ningaloo Cape Page28 range- ExmouthGulf area

15 ExtentofCretaceous marine transgression ofAustralia Page29

1,6 Schematicrelationship between tear faults, transformand detachment Page37 faults, Exmouth Sub-basin 17 Indicative boundaryfor a World Heritagenomination under nah:ral Page47 heritagecriterion (i), geoevolutionaryhistory

LIST OF TABLES

1 Summarygeological evolution ofthe LakeMacleod - Ningaloo- Cape Page16 Range- ExmouthGulf area

2 Inferredspeleogenesis history ofthe CapeRange area Page26

3 World Heritagenatural heritage values and significancematrix for Page34 geologicaland geomorphic features, Lake Macleod - Ningaloo- Cape ranse- Exmouth Gulf area I Executive Summary

The Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf areais proposedfor inclusion on the World Heritage List. The area is arid, located on the mid-west coast of Westem Australia at latitude c. 22'S, in the climatic transitional zonebetween the temperate,winter-dominated rainfall zoneto the southand the tropical, summer-dominatedrainfall to the north. The main physiographc featuresare anticlinal limestoneranges, a living coralgalfringing reef, sandplains and dunes,a vast shallow coastalembayrnent and a large salinelake.

This reports describesthe geological evolution and geomorphicfeatures of the area,in support of its nomination for inclusion on the World HeritageList for its outstandinguniversal value (OUV) rn relation to natural criterion (i) in paragraph44 (a) of the OperationalGuidelines (WHC 2002). It also aims to fulfil the conditions of integrity prescribedin paragraph44 O), (i) and (vi). The proposednomination area is shownin Figure17. Whilst the areais subjectto claimson its natural resources, namely high-grade limestone, hydrocarbons, water, native forage, scenery and wildemess,this synthesisof geologicaland related knowledgeis done objectively, without favour or prejudiceto the variousresource-use proponents.

The Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf areademonstrates very well, (1) a geologicallycondensed period (150 Ma) of successivetectonic and sedimentaryprocesses, and (2) landscape and biological co-evolution, closely related to the break-up of the Gondwanan supercontinent.This processcommenced well to the northweston the Argo Abyssal Plain at about mid-to late-Jurassictime, then progressively'unzipped' our continentin an anticlockwisedirection. For the Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - Cape Range- Exmouth Gulf area, the onset of riffing and generationof new seaflooron the Gascolne and Cuvier Abyssal Plains occurredat the start ofthe CretaceousPeriod (141 Ma). With the progressiveseparation of GreaterIndia from Aushalia, mostly marine sedimentationoccurred in varioussubsiding continental-margin basins, including the Exmouth and Gasco;.neSub-basins. These sub-basins, which containthe rocks now exposedin the area,are part of the much larger CamarvonBasin. Climatic and depositionalconditions changed at mid-Cretaceoustime, resulting in the deposition of mainly pelagic biogenic carbonates,part of which are now exposedas the characteristiclimestone karst in the rangesof the area. The ranges, of which CapeRange is the largest,were formedthrough tectonic compressionin the Late Miocene or early PlioceneEpoch, in responseto initial collisionbetween the Australianand Asian plates. Following this uplift and later sealevel fall, the areahas been subjectto various coastalmarine and terrestrial geomorphicprocess€s. These processes continue, and are essentialfor the maintenance of habitatsand the variouslife forms they contain.

Embeddedwithin this geologicaland geomorphologicalhistory are a numberof outstandingnatural featuresor aspects. Foremost,the Ningaloo Reef - CapeRange karst system,comprising Cape Range,the fringing Ningaloo Reef and coastalplains is a complex hydrogeologicalsystem supporting a distinctive cavernicolousbiota. Geomorphically,it is an outstandingexample of karstification initiated during a wet climatic phasebut mostly developedunder severearid glacial or periglacial conditions. This landform has high natural beauty values, very high scientific values andvery high conservationvalues.

The anticlinal ranges are outstanding examples of an unusual, well preserved tectonic style, involving transferand tear faults, arising from a major shift in orientationand location of spreading cenhesfrom the Argo Abyssal Plain southto the Cuvier - GascoyneAbyssal Plains. The atlpical fault geometry maximised the uplift effect arising from the early Pliocene or Late Miocene compression,and co-beneficially, demonstratesvery well, the tectonic transition fiom a passive divergentmargin to an active convergentcontinental margin. Accordingly, the scientific valuesfor research,educational and referencepurposes are very high, as are the conservationvalues. When consideredsimply as landscape features, the natural beauty values are low. As sealevels fell, wave-cut terracesreflecting highstandshandlines were formed on the flanks of the ranges. Four principal terracesare particularly well preservedon the westem flank of Cape Range. They are incompletely studiedbut are of vital importancein improving the understanding of local and regionalPleistocene sea levels. Also importantin Pleistocenestudies are the dune deserts. Like the teraces,these sediments are incompletelystudied but are providingvaluable palaeoclimaticinformation for the Late PleistoceneEpoch. Overallhowever, the globalscientific significance of the terracesand desert sedimentsis probably limited and accordingly,the World Heritagescientific valuesare moderate. The naturalbeauty values for both geomorphicfeatures are low, but the consen'ationvalues are high, consistentwith the very high conservationvalues of the CapeRange karst systemand the anticlinal ranges.

The Giralia RangeCainozoic and Cretaceousfossils have very high scientificvalues because of their global contributionto understandingthe biologicaltransition from pandemismto endemism from the MesozoicEra to the CainozoicEra. Studiesof certainmicrofossils are also contributing substantiallyto the globalunderstanding of oceanicanoxic events (OAEs) during the Cretaceous floods. Thenatural beauty values are very low, whilstthe conservationvalues, in orderto conserve the very valuablefield mappingand samplingsites, are high. 'window' Lake Macleod is a into a substantialand remarkablehydrogeological system, supporting an important and complex ecosystem. It has high World Heritage scientific values, very high conservationvalues and moderatenatural beauty values. Although located up to 20 km inland, recharge is predominantly from the sea, via highly permeablesubsurface limestone aquifers, rn responseto a 3 to 4m hydrostaticdifferential between ocean and basin maintainedby high evaporationrates. This very unusualrecharge mechanism has engenderedseveral saline habitats, notably including nxrngrovestands, and provides an essentialstopover location for large numbers of migratory shorebirds. Lake Macleod is an outstandingnattral hentagefeature of national and intemationalimportance.

In conclusion,the Lake Macleod - Ningaloo- CapeRange ExmouthGulf areais gaining national and intemational recognition as a place of considerableimportance. It contributes an abundance of outstanding natural hentage features, each with multiple intrinsic values. Importantly, together,the geologicaland geomorphicfeatures, as outlined aboveand in more detail elsewherein this report, and the biological featuresdescribed in the Draft Nomination for the Ningaloo - Cape RangeWorld Heritage Property (GoWA in prep) presentan intnguing story of geologicaland biological co-evolution. These features are very well preservedand accessible here. This areais pivotalto the complexstory of Gondwananfragmentation, both in the tectonicsense of transposedand rotated oceanicspreading centres, and in the biological senseof the changefrom pandemismto endemism. The proposedgeological features(geo-evolutionary) nomination area (Fig. 17)also satisfies the important World Heritageintegrity critenon. 'divorced' Clearly,biological evolution cannot be from the geological'substrate' on which it rs fundamentallydependent. Here, one is able to retracethe history of evolution from entirely marine- basedlife to mixedmarine and terrestrial life. Emergenceof the LakeMacleod - Ningaloo- Cape Range - Exmouth Gulf area reflects sea level changesresulting from the interaction between tectonicsand climate. Compressedinto the geologicalrecord is evidenceof continentalrifting, new oceaniccrust and new oceaniccurrents, melting and freezingof polar icecaps,uplift of new continentalmargin and changedsediment depositional regimes. The high concentrationof diverse landforms and life forms here has arisen from the closejuxtaposition of a number of globally and locally significantevents through a relativelyshort (150 Ma) geologicalperiod. We mustbe very carefulto not destroythis greatnatural richness and, applying the wordsof Ian McHarg (1996p. "it 103)to this area, is a [very] specialplace - its geologicalhistory has made it so". Figure1. Locationol NingalooReef - CapeRange ExmouthGulf aria of WesternAustrf,lla Introduction

The Lake Macleod - Ningaloo- CapeRange ExmouthGulf areaof WestemAustralia (latitude approximately22"5) is renownedfor its shiking sceneryand abundanttenestrial and marinelife. It is an arid bixeric coastallandscape of ruggedlimestone ranges, wave-cut terraces,extensive sandplains and dunes, samphire flats and a varietyof marineenvironments. The area includesthe fnnging Ningaloo Reef, large and very shallow lagoonsand seas, seagrassmeadows and mangrove belts. Figure1 (overpage) shows the locationofthe study atea.

Theseland and seascapefeatures reflect an intensivegeological and climatic history. The rocks, landforms,plants and animals 'record' this extraordinaryhistory, our natural heritage, which includes super continent break-up and opening of the Indian and SouthemOceans, extinctionevents, refugia habitats ofpast climates,the modemisation of marineand terrestrial biotaand the highest sea level ofthe Phanerozoicera (the Great Cretaceous Flood).

Partsof this areaare includedin WestemAustralia's conservation estate. The CapeRange National Park currentlyoccupies an area of 50,581Ha straddlingthe conspicuousCape Rangeand abutting the Ningaloo Manne Park lying along the western side of Cape Range peninsula. The marine park extendsfrom just north of the township of Exmouth, south to Amherst Point, a distanceof approximately260 lcn, covering an area of 508,000Ha. Additions are currently being consideredto the marinepark at its southemend and over the Muiron Islands and SundayIsland at the northern end, and to the CapeRange National Park (CALM 2004).

Thereare multiple land usesin this area. Usesinclude the long establishedpastoral industry and the more recent but well-establishedtourism industry,commercial and recreational fishing, the hydrocarbonand limestoneresource extraction industries and others. Thus multiplevalues are attached to specificparts of the environment,and not all arecompatible. For example,in parts of the ranges,high-grade limestone occurs in very cavernouszones, now known to be specifichabitat for highly endemic,in part relictual,cavernicolous fauna. Eco-tourismrelies entirelyon intact scenic,wildemess and biodiversityelements. Clearly, scientificand conservationvalues of this areaneed to be weighedagainst those uses which may causelong termdevaluation or irreplaceableloss ofthese values.

3 Report Purpose & Outline

The purposeof this report is to provrdegeological and geomorphologicalcontext within which the significance of the natural featuresof the area can be assessedagainst certain natural heritagecriteria for nominationto the World HeritageList.

Specifically,the report addresses the followingtwo aspectsto supportnomination ofthe Lake Macleod - Ningaloo- CapeRange - ExmouthGulf areafor inclusionin the World Heritage List, in accordancewith Article 2 ofthe Convention:

(1) Descriptionofthe geologicaland geomorphic features ofthe studyarea in context;

(2) An evaluationof the identifiedvalues of the areaagainst the World Heritagenatural featurescriterion dealing with "...outstandingexamples representing major stagesof Earth'shistory, including the record oflife, significanton-going geological processes in the developmentof landforms,or significant geomorphicor physiographic features;"[paragraph 44 a. i] (WHC 2002). Further, in regardto integrily sites descnbed,"...should containall or most of the key intenelated and interdependentelements in their natural relationships;" [paragraph44 b. i] (wHC 2002).

Included in the report are diagramsand maps showing the location and extent of natural features or values referred to in the text, and a map (Fig. 17) showing this author's recommendedWorld Heritagearea boundary, taking in to accountbuffer and transition requirementsfor the conservationof substantiallycomplete ecosystems and to meet World Heritageintegrity criteria.

Accordingto the two aspects(l) and(2) outlinedabove, the reportis structuredin two main parts. The first part (Section5) providesthe geologicaldescription, including sections on geologicalsetting and the geologicaland geomorphicevolution of the areawith inclusionof thosepalaeoclimatic and palaeobiologicalaspects, which havehad a developmentinfluence on contemporarylandforms and somelife forms.

The secondpart (Section6) is a critical assessmentof the more significantor outstanding natural featurespreviously describedwith respectto World Heritage Listing criterion. That is, their OutstandingUniversal value (OUV) in terms of being globally outstandineand completeexamDles.

4 Sources of Information and Limitations

Most of the descriptive information in this report has been synthesisedfrom numerous sourcesincluding published journal papers, books, conference proceedings, reports and maps, with only a minor amountsourced from unpublisheddocuments or personalinformation. All sourcesare cited in the text where appropriateand are listed in Section8 (References)at the endof thereport.

Geologicalmap coverage ofthe areais providedby the 1:250,000scale map sheetsYanrey- Ningaloo(van de Graaf{ W. J. 8., Denman,P. D. et al. 1980),Onslow (van de Graaff,W. J. E., Denman,P. D. et al. 1982),Quobba (Denman,P. D. andvan de Graaff,W. J. E. 1982), Winning Pool-Minilya (Hocking,R. M., Williams, S. J. et al. 1985)and Kennedy Range (Hocking,R. M., Williams,S. J. et a1.1985) published by the GeologicalSurvey of Western Australia(GSWA). More detailedmaps, as part of the GSWA state100,000 scale mapping programme,are not yet availablefor this area.

The informationin Section6 (the assessment)is largely this author's own assessment, supplementedin partsby otheropinions (crted where appropriate).

The report focuseson the geologicaland relatedaspects of the studyarea. It is a summary only and cannot be considered an exhaustive compilation or treatment of all available knowledgein this field, or of the relatedaspects of biodiversityand ecologicalprocesses. Aspectsof indigenousculture are also not treatedhere.

In discussionsof geologicalevents, processes and evolution, it is fiequentlynecessary to refer to their geologicalage or duration. The written conyentionfor "millions of years" or "thousandsofyears" is Ma and Ka, respectively.For example,an eventthat took place400 million yearsago has its geologicalage written as "400 Ma", or a geologicallyyoung event that occurredsay, 10,000 years ago, is written"10 Ka". In places,'BP' is alsoused to denote "BeforePresent". 5 Geological & Geomorphological Aspects

5,1 Introduction

The earliest geological referencesto the Cape Rangepeninsula area are dated 1925, 1926, 1935, 1936and 1947, and perlzin to the NorthwestBasin, now known as the CamarvonBasin (van de Graaff, W. J. E., Denman,P. D. et al. 1980). However,the first systematicgeological investigations of this area took place between 1948 and 1955 by the Bureau of Mineral Resources(BMR) now GeoscienceAustralia, and the GeologicalSurvey of WesternAustalia (GSWA), as part of a larger survey of the on-shoreCamarvon Basin. Subsequentgeological surveyshave been rmdertaken, particularly during the period 1975-1985and it is on this work that the curent surface geological rnaps are based. Most of the subsurfacegeological information has been obtained through extensive company-sponsoredhydrocarbon exploration sincethe early 1950sand extensiveregional deepseismic surveys by Geoscience Australiain the 1990s.

Rough Range 1 well, drilled by West Australian Petoleum Pry Ltd (WAPET) in Rough Range, was both the fust on-shore intersection of Jurassic aged sedimentsin Westem Australia and, in November 1957, ttre first oil strike in Australia (Fumival, G. M. 1967). Although not commercial,this strike providedthe explorationimpetus, which led to the major discoveriesofoil and gas in Queensland,Bass Strait in Victoria and in central Australia, and of courseat Barrow Island (1967) and other parts of the CamarvonBasin (Weskm Australia) in the 1970sand 1980s. Hydrocarbonexploration is still active in the region, particularly offshore from North West Capeand firther to the northeaston the Northwest Shelf.

The area is also extensivelycovered by mineral explorationtitles and includes a Ministerial Reservefor Limestoneon CapeRange.

5.2 Regional GeologicalSetting

The Carnarvon Basin (Fig. 2) is a large geological province covering about 600,000kn', stretching from near Geraldtonin the south to just north of Karratha. The basin containsa large thickness of predominantly sedimentaryrocks, maximum thickness about 15,000 metres,spaming geologicalage from Ordovician(base at ^480Ma) to Recent.

Figure 2. Location of the Northem and SouthemCamarvon Basins. and oth€r geologicalprovinces of WestemAustralia (ftom Pucell & Pucell, I 994) Geologically,the basin extendswestward from the Archaean-agedYilgam and Pilbara Cratons to the edge of the continental shelf (the continental-oceaniccrust boundary) and comprisesPalaeozoic to Cainozoicsedimentary depocentres which have been subjectto multiple faulting and folding events,mainly in the Late Triassic/Jurassicand Cretaceous (Stagg,H. M. J. andColwell, J. B. 1994). Interpretationsof conventional,relatively shallow seismicdata show 'classic' horst-graben rift geometryand syn- and post-rift sedimentary fill. However,at a broaderscale, as shown by regional,deep seismic data, the basin still retainsan intact layer-cakesedimentary sequence, little affectedby crustal extensionstructures except alongthe landwardmargin ofthe basin.

The basin has been subdividedinto two major parts (Fig. 2); the Northem CamarvonBasin, which lies mostly offshore,and the SouthernCamarvon Basin, which lies approximately60% onshore and 40% offshore. The Northem Camarvon Basin has been subdivided into a number of sub-basins,dominated by southwest-northeasttrending troughs. In the southern part ofthe basin,a seriesof echelon-arrangedsub-basins lie alongthe southeastbasin margin. These sub-basinsinclude the Exmouth and Barrow sub-basins,and where they onlap the PrecambrianPilbara Craton basement,the PeedamullahShelf. It is this shelf, the Exmouth Sub-basinand the northemextremity of the SouthernCamarvon Basin, the GascoyneSub- basin, that contain all the rocks that crop out in the Ningaloo - CapeRange Exmouth Gulf area.

5.J Local GeologicalSating

The PeedamullahShelf and Exmouth Sub-basinabut the northem extremity of the Southem CamarvonBasin. The geologicalboundary between the two sub-basinsis the Bullara Ridge (Condon,M. A. 1968),a prominentalthough buried basement ridge, trending north-northeast acrossthe southernend of CapeRange peninsula from nearBruboodjoo Point (ust north of Coral Bay) to ExmouthGulf.

The rocks of the Ningaloo - Cape Range- Exmouth Gulf area comprise the southeastern margin of the Exmouth Sub-basinwhere the basin onlaps the basementalong the Bullara Ridge and merge with rocks of the SouthernCarnarvon Basin, in a sub-basinknown as the GascolmeSub-basin, which includesthe Lake Macleod area. This geologicaltransition zone, in which sedimentaryand tectonic affinities with both the Northern and Southem CamawonBasins occur, especially from Cretaceous(post-rift, passive margin) time on, has been further subdividedinto a seriesof fault boundedmarginal terraces and a trough,namely, the Bundegi,Yardie, Learmonth and Ningaloo Terraces and Paterson Trough @ig. 3). Thus the geologicalhistory ofthis areaintegrates the historiesof the Exmouthand Gascoynesub- basins,as parts of two importantand much larger continental margin basins.

5,4 GeologicalEvolution

The geological evolution of the CarnarvonBasin is integrally tied to the break-up of super continents. During the Palaeozoic(to end of the Permian),this evolution is related to early but failed rift (break-up)events that are only bnefly outlined below. In contrast,subsequent geologicalevents in the Mesozoic(Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous) and Cainozoic (Palaeocene, Eocene,Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene) associated with rifting and eventual break-upof the supercontinents Pangea and Gondwanadid play a major role. The Northern and SouthernCamarvon Basins and the WestemAushafian continentalmargin were shaped by theseevents, which in tum and in conjunctionwith climate,drove biological evolution to its presentday formsand adaptations.

10 Figure 3. SuMivisionsof theNorthem Canarvon Basin. Abbreviations:Peedamullah Shelt Ca - CandaceTerrace, AE - Ashbuton Embayment,RE - RobeEmbayment. Exmouth Sub-basin;PT PatersonTrough, LT - I€amonth Tenace,NT - Ningaloo Tenace,BT - BundegiTerrace, YT - Yardie Tenace. Barow Sub-basin;Lo - Locker Terace, WBS - West Bafow Syncline,BIT - Barrow Island Trend, LS - t owendalSyncline, Mo - MontebelloTrend. DampierSub-basin; En EnderbyTenace, Me - Mermaid Tenaca,El EliassonTenace, LT - l€wis Trough, l€ t€gendre Trend, Ma - MadeleineTrend. Rankin Platform and Dixon Sub-basin;AA - Alpha Arch, Pa - ParkerTenace, lG - KendrewTrough, VT - Victoria Trough, CT - CossignyTrough, SP- SablePlatform, RT - RonsardTrough, RR - Ronsard Ridge, PI PicardTrough, PR - PicardRidge, TC Thouin craben, NT - North Turtle Hinge Zone, OBP - Outer BeaglePlatform. (from Hocking et al, 1994)

Basinevolution and continentalmargin development occurred in five (5) major depositional cycles (here called megasequences)and associatedmajor tectonic events. These are describedbelow and also shown as a stratigraphicchart (Fig. 4).

MesaseouenceI (Sag phase 1) From aboutthe mid Carboniferous(325 Ma), the Camarvon Basinprobably began to develop(Yeates, A. N., Bradshaw,M. T. et al. 1987;Stagg, H. M. J. andColwell, J. B. 1994)but evidencefor actualbasin initiation at this time is scant.

However, at this time the major continentalmasses of the World were beginning to amalgamateand by about310 Ma, WestemAustralia was part of the supercontinent called Pangea[Pangea existed from about 310 to 150Ma] and was migrating southwardsfrom equatorialregions. The Westem Australianpart of Pangearemained at high southem latitudesfor about200 million years,until migratingnorthwards again, to our currentposition in the last 60 million years. For example,the CapeRange area was at approximatelylatitude 45"Sat mid Carboniferous(325 Ma) times,about 58oS at EarlyPermian (280 Ma) timesand, its highestlatitude, 60o5 at about240 Ma (wheneastem Australia was located over the South Pole)(Veevers, J. J. 1984). Severeglacial or periglacialconditions prevailed for muchof this time with the formationof a continent-wideicesheet several kilometres thick, known as the GondwananIcesheet. Pangea eventually split into two smaller,although still very largesuper continentscalled l,aurasia(comprising all the presentday northemhemisphere continental rnasses)and Gondwana (comprising Africa, lndia,Australia, Antarctica and South America). This break-uphad little or no directeffect on CamarvonBasin evolution except that it then allowed Gondwanato eventuallybreak-up, including the separationof GreaterIndia and Australiaalong the developing Camarvon Basin.

The GondwananIcesheet was a major geo-climaticevent and is recognisedby numerous occurrencesof striated,polished pavements and otherfeatures formed by thick grindingice, and a major stratigraphicunconformity Q.{amurianage) throughout Condwana. The Cape Rangearea was near the northwestem limit of theicesheet, and in this area,the ice generally

l1 Figure 4. Stratigraphyofthe offshore Camarvon Basin, including megasequencesand major tectonicevents affecting the northwest Australian margin. (from Stagg and Colwell, 1994) moved in a northwesterlydirection. However,this event did not have a strong direct influence on the geomorphicdevelopment of this area; subsequentevents have had a much greaterinfluence.

After melting of the icesheet,as glacial conditionsmoderated, sedimentation resumed. Tkoughout the remainderof the Carboniferousand in to the Permian (to about 260 Ma), marinesediment, much of it glaciogenic,continued to be depositedin the gentlydeveloping sagbasin, the proto-CamarvonBasin. Thesesediments are now known as the Lyons,Byro and KennedyGroups, and during this long period of over 70 million years,suffered little tectonic disturbance. The thicknessof this sequence,although uncertain due to poor recognitionof thebase, is estimatedto be 2 to 2.5kn.

12 MesasequenceII (Sagphase 2) This long period of relatively uniform sedimentationwas then intemrptedby a short period of increasedtectonic activity in the Late Permian(Tatarian, 252 Ma) characterisedby uplift, block faulting and volcanism (known as the Bedout Movement)(Fig. 4).

Marine sedimentationresumed, and as the basinrapidly filled, extensiveareas of thick, regressive,fluvio-deltaic sediments formed (Locker Shale and Mungaroo Formation) (Stagg, H. M. J. and Colwell, J. B. 1994)during the Triassic(251 - 205 Ma). The thicknessof sedimentsis estimatedat 5 to 6 km.

MeqasequenceIII (Sagphase 3) Again, a penod of tectonicactivity in the Late Triassicor Early Jurassic(at about205Ma), associated wrth the separationof continentalslivers fiom northernGondwana (Metcalfe, I. 1996),changed the depositionalregime in the southernsub- basins.In the ExmouthSub-basin, the maintectonic expressions are pronounced faults, open folds andan unconformity,but accordingto Staggand Colwell (1994)this tectonismwas not the onsetof GreaterIndia - Australiacontinental rifting, ashad been earlier postulated (Fig.4).

Followingthis tectonicevent, deposition of thick (3 - 4 lcn), restricted-basinmarine shales (Dingo Claystone)continued in the Exmouth and other southemsub-basins, in responseto rapidsubsidence.

Meqasequence fV (Intra-break-up phase) This phaseof pre-rift (break-up)deposition continuedthough the Jurassicuntil aboutthe startof the Cretaceous(141 Ma) whenseafloor spreading (break-up) commencedon the Gascoyneand Cuvier Abyssal Plains and affected the southemparts of the basin. As shown in Figure 5, the resulting intra-break-up sedimentarysequence is very characteristic. It formed an extensive,northwards prograde sandydeltaic complex (Banow IslandGroup and equivalents),which migratedtowards the open ocean in the northem parts of the Northem Carnarvon Basin where break-up had commencedearlier, on the Argo Abyssal Plain. This is termedthe intra-break-upsequence and its provenancewas the continentalmargin, developingalong the extensionaltransform fault zoneof the Caperange Fracture Zone (CRFZ) but depositionwas abruptly terminatedin the Early Cretaceous(at aboutValangian time, 134Ma) in responseto a secondepisode of seafloorspreading and removal ofthe major sourceof sedimentto the south(Stagg, H. M. J. and Colwell, J. B. 1994),probably due to substantialsea level rise (D. Haig,pers. comm., Aug. 2004).

The continentalmargin remained a topographicallyelevated area, that is, a sedimentsource, only while the CRFZ remained a continent-continentB?e transform fault (Veevers, J. J. 1984). With passageof GreaterIndia pastthe ExmouthPlateau and the wideningoceanic floor (the developing Lrdian Ocean), the continental margin began to subside,no longer providing a sourceof terrestrialsediment.

PROTO-INDIAN Figure 5. Cuvier- Casco;,neAbyssal Plains OCEAN palaeogeographicreconstruction at 138Ma, just after break-up,showing the CapeRange Fracture Zone (extensionalfault zone). Stipple indicates fluvio- deltaiccomplex, beyond which is marineshelf environmentofthe proto-lndianOcean, narrow double line is theelevat€d continental margin and broad arrowsindicate sediment transport direction; present- daycoastline (medium black line) shownfor reference only (modifi€dafter Veevers, 1984).

l3 MegasequenceV (Post-riftphase) Subsequently,thick, restricted marine shales (Munderong Shale)were again depositeduntil the mid Cretaceous,in many of the southem sub-basinsincluding the Gascolne Sub-basin,but not in the Exmouth Sub-basin. Here, instead,major uplift, probablyassociated with emplacementof oceanicvolcanic rocks in the Cuvier Abyssal Plain, caused erosion of several hundred metres of Early Cretaceous fNeocomian)strata.

Sedimentationthen resumedin the mid Cretaceous(100 Ma) in the Exmouth Sub-basin(Fig. 6) in responseto renewedbasin subsidence.Initial sedimentationconsisted of widespread, shallow marine-shelfradiolarian claystoneand radiolarite (Windalia Radiolarite)followed by clastic, terrigenousmaterial (Gearle Siltstone). But as basin margin areas became consistentlystarved ofclastic sedimentas the climate changedfiom humid to arid, and as sea

Figure 6. EastemTethys palaeogeographic reconsfuction for the (A) Late Jurassic,(B) Early Cretaceousand (C) LateCretaceous. Letters refer to terranesand M numbersto Indian Oceanmasnetic anomalies(from Metcalfe,l 996).

14 levels rose and sea surfacetemperatures warmed (but still cold), the depositedsediments becamedominated by pelagic biogenic carbonate,almost devoid of terrigenousinput (Henderson,R. A., Crampton,J. S. et al. 2000). This is an extremelyimportant stage in the geological,geomorphological and biologicalevolution of this region and globally,and is furtherdescribed in Section5.5.

Carbonate-dominateddeposition continued through the Cretaceous(Toolonga Calcilutite, Miria Marl), Palaeogeneand Neogene (Cardabia Calcarenite, Giralia Calcarenite, Cape Range Group), Pleistocene(Exmouth Sandstone,Bundera Calcarenite) to the Present(surficial alluvial,colluvial and aeoliandeposits), although punctuated several times by periodsof non- deposition(unconformities) due to tectonicactivity and eustatic adjustments. The Cretaceous andCainozoic units are shown in Fisure7. below.

Oil well Radiolarite r:- :: , _i a Source a W Reservor Oil and gas well O * [!] vt"'.i a_;; :aacstone O Seal Gas well , -:-, '-,udstone - Limestone | .

Figure 7. PosFJurassicstratigraphy of theonshore No(hem CamarvonBasin (from GSWA, 2004)

Associatedwith the progressiveopening of the new IndianOcean from the Early to the l-ate Cretaceous(Figs.5,6 & 7), the lreuwin Currentdeveloped, bringing warm tropicalwater southwardsinto colder,temperate zone waters. Althoughonly narrow,usually 30 to 40 km

15 wide, it is a seasonallystrong current that continues to influence the southem Westem Australian climate and, importantly, the marine biota. The extraordinary biota of the Ningaloo Reef is more comprehensivelydescribed in the Draft Nomination for the Ningaloo - CapeRange World HeritageProperty (GoWA in prep).

The latestepisode is post-Miocene,possibly initiated at late Plioceneor early Pleistocene time (approximately1.8Ma), and consistedof west-northwest- east-southeastdirected compressioncausing reverse reactivation of older normal faults and the developmentof substantialfolds in the Gascol.ne,Exmouth and Barrow Sub-basins.In the Ningaloo - Cape Range - Exmouth Gulf area, these structuresinclude the Cape Range, Paterson,Rough Range,Giralia, Yamey and WandageeFaults and the CapeRange, Rough Range, Giralia and Manilla Anticlines (and associatedsynclines), all trendingnorth-northeast (van de Graaff, W. J. E., Denman,P. D. et al. 1980)and further described in Sections5.5.1 and 6.4.3. The Cape RangeAnticline is the largestofthese folds, being some 100 km long with structuralreliefof 450 m (GeologicalSurvey of WestemAustralia 1975), and now formsthe very conspicuous CapeRange. The GiraliaAnticline, about 130 km long with structuralrelief of 200m, forms the Giralia Rangeand the Rough RangeAnticline forms the much smallerbut ruggedRough Rangebetween the two larger ranges.

Table I Summary geological evolution of the Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - Cape Ranse - Exmouth Gulf area*

TIMING EVENTS Holocene Stablesea level, active coastal deposition ofcarbonate sands.

Warpingof olderwave-cut teraces, overall sea level fall, fomation of Pleistocene TantabiddiTerrace, cessation of uplift, arid climate and dune desert formation,modem Ningaloo Reef started.

Uplift initiatedby Australia- Asia collision,inversion movement on Pliocene Learmonth Fault, emergenceof Cap€ Range (island), humid climate, inceptionof karstification.

FormationofMacleod Graben.Deposition ofTrealla Limestone(top of Miocene CapeRa Grp).

Palaeocene-Eocen€-Oligocene Continuingcarbonate deposition.

Initiationof carbonatedeposition, oceanic anoxic events, major marine Mid - LateCretaceous fiansgtessrons.

Commencementof sealloorspreading on Gascoyn€and CuvierAbyssal EarlyCretaceous Plains (Greater lndia - Australia break-up), mainly siliciclastic deposition.

Early CamawonBasin evolution, Gondwanan Icesheet, long periodsof Mid Carboniferous- Early Cretaceous sedimentationint€rrupted by Late Permian,Late Triassic & Late Jurassic tectonicand volcanic events.

x Modified after Allen (1993),incorporating data from Malcolm et al (1991),Stagg & Colw€ll (1994)and Metcalfe(1996).

The formation of younger rocks and deposits,and the geomorphicevolution of the area are describedin the followingsection (Section 5.5).

T6 5.5 Local Physiographic Featuresand Development

The Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf area can be subdividedinto uplands,lowlands and the marine environment,and each of thesecan be further subdivided into a numberof physiographicunits basedon their topographicexpression in the landscape.

The majorphysiographic units are a directexpression of lithostructuralgeological processes oflate Cainozoicage, reflecting the regionaltectonic instability of the time andin the words of Wyrwoll et al (1993) "Uplift has provoked a strong and distinctive erosionaland depositionalgeomorphological response." The main physiographicunits are shownin Figue 8 below.

Theseunits are outlined below and severalare discussedin more detail where they are good examplesof, or relate to, the geological,geomorphological and/or biological evolution ofthe Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - CapeRange - ExmouthGulf area. The uplandsconsist of: o Anticlinalranges including wave-cut terraces, o Elevatedetch plains, . Mesas,strike ridges and elevatedduricrust remnants (breakaways).

The lowlandsconsist of: . Coastalcalcareous sand plains . Floodplains, alluvial fans and river valleys,including valley calcrete, . Sandplainsand dunefields, o Sandcovered calcareous duricrust plains, . Salinecoastal lakes and associated sediments.

Units associatedwith the marine coastalenvironment include: . Coral fringing reef system(Ningaloo Ree0, locatedat the northem end and along the westemseaboard of the peninsula, o Tidal and supratidalmud and sandflats, o Calcareousshoreline dunes and sands.

17 \ fTat Li,riNc eoattP.eoF (Eiteatza I,I I TIPE N. OF4NARF,JqO AA\, 6otf&). LlJ FFaNgiNg froe

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FlatyiaL ourl/Aslt ?LAiNg Nhlt AL LIJViUI' ALONCb RAIMlE' ftllDE Lraic a LAv F t oo oPLal Ns ,"^/t IN LONEE REACIIE . ffi^^"* [i:i:*;r;"j (s ELTd. RiLL Efattpl\iNs arAsrRiPPEo .fxbiPL^|NS) qRAbE trlfo 7. .g:i Y4 i t:l f"-7 cu.c,azte DuRioRusrtD Latal ffi f{B ReLIeF cu€tr^s4 ^1sF3 VA

W oissecrt> eoexr i.eRa/tiN '. W cuEsTAt hlEsas, Rurlea ? W srRiRE P.togts ffi '-;?:"v f::1AN auN L RAME. 4 bottE oF 4,^,t (^1 cAPRoNAfLFockst FLuvtaL70 l^1 shALLoN,tatuNe i,ltocENEro :^i:i {rf:f 4 c.RtrAcE,,lsaqE. fqs5tLtFERouS ./i;j ii# \,ir:^,i Fl"o*,',fr:#8". ri#, l-. I ix;'4:x oio, a'.',ov -f,.": W f.s1",,"f!*1

- Figure 8, Generalisedphysiogaphy of the LakeMacleod - Ningaloo- CapeRange ExmouthGulf area,compiled and adapted aom physiographicmapping accompanying each ofthe relevantl:250,000 Geological SeriesmaDs and memoirs.

18 5.5.1 Anticlinal Rangesand Domes

The peninsula landscapeis dominatedby a seriesof linear north-northeasttrending ranges (Fig. 9), the surfaceexpression of anticlines, synclinesand associatedfaults resulting from west-northwest- east-southeastdirected compression during the Late Cainozoic(Pliocene or Pleistocane).

Figure9, Locationofthe main anticlinal ranges in theLake Macleod - Ningaloo- CapeRange - Exmouth Gulfarea.

The anticlines are slightly asymmetric,with steepereastem limbs, which has influencedthe consequentdrainage on opposite dip slopes. The ranges are Cape Range, Rough Range, Giralia Range and a group of small, low ranges and domes to the east and west of Lake Macleod to the southof thepeninsula. The highestpoint, Mt Hollister(31 lmas1), is on Cape Range. Rough Rangeis the lowest of the peninsularanges, only rising to about 75 metres abovesea level.

The post-Cretaceoussequence forming much of the ranges is the Cape Range Group, comprisingmarine, mainly carbonaterocks, about480 metresthiclg which rangein age from Late Oligoceneat the baseto Late Mioceneat the top (Stagg,H. M. J. and Colwell, J. B. 1994) . The group hasbeen subdivided into mappableformations, namely, (from the base)the Mandu Limestone(280 m thick); Tulki Limestone(90 m); Trealla Limestone (20 m) and its upper lateral equivalent on the western and northem side of Cape Range,the Pilgramunna Formation (25 m), a quartzosecalcarenite; and at the top, Vlaming Sandstone(65 m), an aeolianquartzose calcarenite.

Unconformably overlying the Cape Range Group rocks is the Exmouth Sandstone,a quartzose calcarenite of Pliocene age, comprising aeolian and shallow marine deposits. StratigraphicallyOut not topogaphically) overlying this unit is the BunderaCalcarenite of Pleistoceneto Holoceneage. It is preservedas aeolian and shallow marine deposits on wave-

l9 terracesare cut terraces,mainly on the westem, lower flanks of CapeRange The wave-cut furtherdescribed in Section5.5.2 below. a variety of The youngest deposits are of Holocene age and are currently active in supratidal and "r*ron-"lnt, inciucling the Ningaloo Reef, coastal beaches and dunes' intertidalflats, clalpans, and sandplains and dune fields'

5,5.2 Wave-cutTenaces

BetweenVlamingHeadinthenorthandWealjugoHillinthesouth'adistanceofabout giant steps' 90 km, a serieso? conspicuouswave-cut shoreline terraces or benches'forming principal terraces'the have been erodedinto the lower flanks of CapeRange' There are four g00 m abovesea level, ro*"ri u"i"g trr" coastalplain from about to 1,600metres wide and6 andthehigh'estabout55mehesabovesealevel(vandeCrraaff,WJE'Denman'PDetal' 1975;Wyrwoll, K.-H., Kendrick,G. W. et aI 1993)

Inorderofincreasingelevationabovecur:rentsealevel,thetefracesare:TantabiddiTerrace Terrace and " "ou.tut plain frJm near the foot of the range), Jurabi Terrace' Milyering 1tt gently (warped)but not iiri.".-1"*"ri.iral"itiv"e i"."". (Fig. 10) . The three upperterraces have been folded Uplift andwarping ii," of geologicallyrecent but now ceased.deformation. -H G W' et al' were essentiallycompletid during ihe Quatemary(W1rwol1, K ' Kendrick' 1993).

rool doPo3ils littorol d.Posir' o Corolcol/ol9ol EJ cod.s.-eroii.d .r' P.bbl€r lroh PBcomb.ioo bo3!m.nl I|1sdium'lrolnod€olion dop6its o.6 P6bb1../co!blor lrom Mioc.n€ |!cks m

themain wave-cut teraces; Figure 10. Cross-sectionofthe westernflank of CapeRange showins on thewestem limb of ,.?" *,"rii" *".,*t, aip J,r,. r"fti'iin1".i"n. "rJpitg.rir..nu Formation-(being 1993)' ttreCape Range ,lnticline) is not shownhere (from W)rwoll et al'

Rangepeninsula' Theseterraces record the uplift / sealevel stillstandhistory of the cape and on eachare in"y ur" cut into the Tulki iimestone and overlying PilgramunnaFormation' depostts' shaliowinshore and near-shore clastic carbonate and minor siliciclastic th€ lowest terrace The agesof formation of the tenacesare not well known' Sedimentfrom - from the f"."ce) hasbeen dated by U-Th methodat 132 127KaBP and corals O""t"-itaJi 1982;Wlrwoll' sameter.ace ga,te a 123Ka age(van de Graaff,W' J E', Denman,P' D etaI indicatingthat the ii_ff .- i""ari"t, C. W. et l. 1el:;. Thesedates are reasonably consistent,

20 terraceformed during the Late Pleistocene,Last Interglacial. The other teraceshave not been dated,however, it is generally assumedthat the three higher terracesare older than the TantabiddiTerrace, indeed that tenaceage increases with elevation. In otherwords, as sea level fell relativeto the land, that is, as land uplift progessed,the shorelineretreated down the flanksof CapeRange. At eachsea stillstand, wave-cut platforms or terraceswere formed, thus the earliest formed is thought to be the uppermost,Muiron Terrace. The lower terraces formedat laterstillstands.

However, there are complications,including evidencefor multiple transgressiveand regressiveevents (eg Tantabiddi Tenace), undoubtedlyindicating a tectonic and geomorphic history somewhatmore complex than is currentlyunderstood. This author agreeswith Wyrwoll et al (1993) that knowing the age of eachof the main terraces(and the minor "... terraces)is very importantbecause of their direct bearingon the timing of up1iftand henceon the geomorphologicaland biological (colonisation, speciation, endemism) processes that have generatedthe presentCape Range environment and biota."

5.5.3 The Ningaloo Reef - CapeRange Kant System

Another way to envisageor understandthe areais to considerthat severalof its physiographic unitscan be includedin a functioningkarst system. This approachis advocatedby Hamilton- Smith et al (1998)who suggestthat the entirepeninsula and associatednear-shore marine environment, including the fringing reefs, constitutesa karst geomorphic province' This authoragrees, because an ecosystemslandscape approach allows better understanding of the functional relationshipsand dependenciesbetween the variousphysiographic components and therrcontained life habitats.

The word 'karst' is denved fiom early descriptionsof the extensive limestone plateaus locatedto the eastof the Adriatic Seain the presentday Baltic republics.Karst is a termthat encompassesa suite of landforms,sometimes spectacular, often intriguing, and largely dependenton high rock solubility(Twidale, C. R. andCampbell, E. M. 1993),characterised by intemal and subterraneandrainage, and other features. A karst province, such as the Ningaloo - Cape Range area, is a complex and dlmamic systemcomposed of highly interrelatedlandforms, various fluids, rocks,regolith and biologicalconstituents, resulting from complexinteraction between climatic, geologic, pedologic, hydrologic, physiographic and biologicalfactors, collectively called environmental drivers. Thesedrivers operate at a wide rangeof spatialand temporal scales.

Theprocess drivers of karstsystems can be groupedas follows:

D Geologicalprocesses and evolution (the setting), which influence: o Rocktypes (lithology), o Rock structure(bedding planes, joints, faults and folds).

O Climaticprocesses and evolution, which influence: o Available moisture, o Temperature.

Acting at large temporal and spatial scales,the geological and climatic drivers then drive a numberof smallerscale drivers such as:

tr Geomorphicand hydrological processes, which influence: o Topography, o Baselevels and surface-subsurface hydrologic gradients, o Erosionaland depositional processes.

2l The geomorphicand hydrologicalprocesses then drive a numberof biophysicalproc€sses such as nutrient transfer,resulting in the mosaicof habitats(different regolith - plant landformassemblages).

The driversoutlined above are described in moredetail below, in the contextof theNingaloo- Cape Range-ExmouthGulf Karst Province. More information on certain ecological implicationsof parts of this karst systemand adjacentterrestrial systems is also provided below.

5.5.3.1 GeologicalAspects

Lithologicalvariation, in particular,chemical composition (purity), porosity and tensile (void- supporting) strength of carbonate rocks strongly influence the nature of karstification (Twidale,C. R. andCampbell, E. M. 1993;White, S. 1998).

A varietyof carbonaterock tlpes hostthe NingalooReef - CapeRange karst system. They rangein age from Palaeocene(65 54Ma) to Holocene(10 Ka to Present)and rangein compositionfrom pure crystallinelimestone to argillaceous(clay or silt bearing)limestone (marl). Most of the carbonatesare shallowmarine facies but some,such as the Bundera Calcarenite,consist of bothaeolian and shallow marine facies.

Developmentofthe oldererosional (soluhon karst) features has been controlled by threemain units (Fig. 1l), namely, (in stratigraphicyounging order) the Mandu Limestone,Tulki "younging" Limestoneand Trealla Limestone(Allen, A. D. 1993). [note: the term or "facing" is the direction toward which a rock or layer youngs in geologicalage; in sedimentarysequences which havenot been overh.rmedor intenselyfolded, the younging directionis generallyupwards] The mostpronounced karstification occurs over a 100metre (maximum) stratigraphicinterval, comprisingthe recrystallisedupper part of the Tulki Limestoneand part of the overlyingTrealla Limestone. The age of the carbonateshosting this pronouncedkarst zone is probably Early to Middle Miocene, and initiation of speleogenesisis thought to be LateMiocene to Pliocene(Allen, A. D. 1993).However,

VlamingSst.

Approximatebase " - - ot Kats(flcalron Wl F.eshwaler ,g WaterTable f:] seawaler . Intedinqerinq Borewilh rotmaltons 330 sali.ity (mg/LT.D.S.)

Unconlormity

Figure11. Cape Rangehydrogeological cross-section (from Allen, 1993).

22 speleogenesismay havestarted earlier (see Section 5.5.3.4 on GeomorphicAspects below). The Mandu Limestone is a relatively impermeablemarl and has limited the depth extent of major solutionfeatures.

Rock structuressuch as bedding,joints, folds and faults strongly influence karst development andmorphology by providingplanes or zonesalong which vadose fluids migrate. Dueto the sedimentologicaland tectonichistory of this area,all ofthese featuresare present and provide numeroussites for piping and accelerateddissolution to occur.

Sinkholesand cavesare developedalong the drainagedivide, the well jointed crestof the anticlinal ranges,and it is inferred that the most extensivecave systemsare presentbeneath the essentiallyundissected etch plains where intemal drainage is well developed(Allen, A. D. 'dry' 1993). Most of the cavesin the uplandareas are systemswith poorly developed'cave "Wanderers decoration'. The largestcave, Delight", flows weakly after healy rainfall. In contrast,the cave systemsalong the coastalplain, from which the foglobitic fish have been recorded, are partially or totally filled with water; their depth below sea level and extent offshoreare unknown (Al1en, A. D. 1993).

5,5.3.2 ClimaticAsp€cts climatic conditions play an important role in subaerial diagenesisand karstification of carbonate rocks. Only trace amounts of calcium carbonate are soluble in pure water, however,if carbondioxide is presentin solution,the waterbecomes weakly acid, allowing more carbonateto be carried in solution. Carbondioxide is presentin the atmosphereand, in greater amountsin the regolith, and at low temperatures,is readily absorbedby water. In addition,organic (humic) acids produced by plantsassist in the acidificationof water'

Karst can form in all climates, subjectto availablewater, but in general,karstification rates areup to 4 timesfaster in humidtropical regrons compared to humid cool regions. The rate diffeiential is thought to be due to strongerfortification of vadosewaters by humic acids (Twidale, C. R. and Campbell,E. M. 1993) Interestinglyhowever, there is no readily apparentand consistentdifference in karstmorphology between cool andwarm regions,and between wet and dry regions; the only significant difference is the rate at which the karst featuresform.

The present-dayclimate of the LakeMacleod - Ningaloo- cape Range- ExmouthGulf area is tropical arid, subject to inffequent cyclonic and northwest cloud-band precipitation. wFwoll (1993)estimates that approximately40% (110mm) of the meanannual rainfall in the region is denved from tropical cyclones. The current mte of karst developmentis therefore likely to be slow due to the seasonalirregularity and usual paucity of water. Palaeoclimatesof this area have however, included both more humid and more arid subtropical(not tropical) and cold periods. During the Late Miocene- Pliocenewhen karstificationpossibly commenced, the climatewas much wetter than present but for mostof the subsequenttime, conditionswere considerablydrier than the present,as glacial or periglacialconditions prevailed

5.5.3.3 HydrologicalAspects

Meteoric water, occurring in the vadoseand phreatic zones,is the primary dissolution agent acting on emergentrange and coastalcarbonates. However, the baseof karstifrcationextends laterally offshore, beneaththe seafloor,and here in the marine environment,seawater is the primarydissolution agent. The contemporarylocal water table occurs within a heterogeneouskarstic aquifer system (Allen, A. D. 1993),forming a broadfreshwater lens or moundbeneath each of the ranges;at CapeRange, the CapeRange Mound is thoughtto rise to about 10 metresabove sea level with a radial flow pattem,probably discharging into the reefzone via sub-seasprings and into poolsalong the lowerreaches of YardieCreek and Qualing Pool (Allen, A. D. 1993)' A large perennialfreshwater spring at the contactof the Mandu and Tulki Limestonesin a tributary of ShotholeCanyon, in the CapeRange, has beenreported by Forth (1973, cited by Allen, 1993). Importantly however, it is likely that the local grotmdwatermounds on the peninsula are separatedfrom (not in hydrological connection with) the regional fresh groundwater system of the onshore Camarvon Basin. The separationis causedby a large, shallow unconfinedsaline aquifer systemto the south,of which Lake Mcleod is a surfaceexpression. This interestingfeature is furtherdescribed in Section5.5.4 below'

Rechargeto the karst province is by direct infiltration, albeit inegularly flom the inftequent but intense or long-durationrainfall events. This has important implications for managing water extraction(for domesticand indushial use), groundwaterpollution and maintenanceof karstecosystems.

5.5.3.4 GeomorphicAspects

The Ningaloo Reef - Cape Range karst system comprises three main interconnected physiographickarst components(Fig. 12). The componentsare in hydrologicalconnection 'dry' and provide a rangeofhabitats from elevated openingsto entirely aquaticenvironments.

1. Crestkarst: best developed along the crestof CapeRange and less well developedon Rough Range. Here, relatively flat elevatedremnants ofa pre-existingplateau have pronouncedrectilinear joint setsand well developedintemal drainagebaneath which, the subterraneankarst system is better developed. On Cape Range, the best- preservedkarst occursat the southernend. There is no signiflcant karst development on Giralia Rangedue to extensivedissection and removal of the CapeRange Group carbonatesfiom the crestand upperflanks.

2. Flank karst:this karstcomponent occurs on the flanks of Capeand RoughRanges. Here, the karst terrain has been deeply incised, in many areasto such a depth as to exposeMandu Limestone and underlying Cretaceousunits. Due to the increased slope, it is a higher energy fluvial environment, causing increasedsurface water runoff and less infiltration. Karstification is likely to be slower in this topographic setting and the lack of extensive cave systemson the range flanks supportsthis assertion. Some drainages,such as Yardie Creek, contain fault controlled linear reaches.

3. Coastalplain karst: the third physiographiccomponent comprises the coastal plain karst that extendsoffshore some distanceand includes the Ningaloo Reef system. Topographicslopes and hydrologic gradientsare very low. In contrastto the qest and flank karst componentswhere erosional processespredominate, both karst erosionaland depositionalprocesses operate on the coastalplain. Importantly, these 'older', processesare taking place in both the induratedMiocene-Pliocene limestones and in the 'younger', weakly induratedPleistocene carbonate deposits.

24 1i 3o45

f] coa"tutplaln

E] sandsheet r---- DeePlYdissected Plateau L-l (trellisedd.ainage) ffi &gan'l-$i*ii331i"""" pluteau ! Dissect"d liiitEl,?Prateau Cotalrcet J ,J Regionaldrainage - / divide . .-/ l.ocal dtair'age / ctvtoo b Figure 12. CapeRange physiographic elementsand drainage (ftom Allen, 1993).

| 2okm I

On the coastalplain, karstificationof thesepoorly consolidatedsediments has not yet been well studied. However, in other parts of Australia, more detailed studies of poorly consolidated sedimentshave been undertakenwhich do orovide useful insishts into the karstification process.

In mid-Pleistocenelimestones of the Otway Basin, southwest Victoria, speleogenesisis currently occurringin calcarenitedunes that are only partly lithified or consolidated.Study of the rapid subaerial speleogenesistaking place here shows that, contrary to acceptedkarst theory, diagenesis (lithification) and solution ftarstification) can and are occurring simultaneously(White, S. 1998). The key featureis the developmart of an induratedlayer near the surfaceof the poorly consolidatedcarbonates, which then provides sufficient void- spanningstrength for cavesto form beneath(Srhite, S. 1998).

Thus, simultaneouslithification of carbonatesands and formation of karst solution featuresis an important and contemporaryspeleogenetic evolutionary feature of the Ningaloo - Cape Range- ExmouthGulf area. Giventhis, it is thenpossible that speleogenesisof the 'older' limestones, for example Trealla Limestone, commenced much earlier than has been oostulated.

z) Table 2 Inferredspeleogenesis history ofthe CapeRange area+

TIMING EVENTS

Rise of sea to presentlevel; continueddissection of upper karst syst€m; Holocene drowning of lower karst system;continued speleogenesis of coastalplain (10 Ka Pr€sent) seolmenls.

Maximumsea level fall to130mbelow present (glacial maxima conditions) & latePleistocene continuedemergence of CapeRange area; accelerated deep erosion; possible (800 10Ka) lateral& depthextension ofcave system (now offshore)

earlyPleistocene Continuedemergence of CapeRange area: onset of arid conditions;limited (1.8Ma 800Ka) speleogenesis.

L. Miocene- Pliocene EmergenceofCape Range as an island;development ofgroundwater system & (11 1.8Ma) initiationof speleogenesisunder humid, near{ropical conditions.

* Modifiedaffer Allen (1993).

5.5.4 Lake Macleod and Bullaru Sunkland

LakeMacleod is a largesalt lake, some 110 km long by 40 kn maximumwidth, inlandfrom and parallelingthe coastline(Fig. 13). The lakeis the surfaceexpression of a largeshallow unconfinedsaline aquifer system, the Lake Macleod basin,and includes saline alluvial plains with samphireand saltbush,and an inland mangroveassemblage confined to small patches aroundthe lake. The riparianvegetation is, in general,in poor conditionhaving been subject to very heary grazing pressure(W & R C 1997). The wetlands are a major migration stopoverand drought refuge for shorebirds(May, J. E andMcKenzie, N. L. 2003).

Lake Macleod basin lies within the Macleod graben, a fault-bounded north-tr€nding structuraldepression forming part ofBullara Sunkland. The grabendeveloped duling the mid to late Miocene, initially forming an extensivemarine embayment' Subsequently,basin morphology was modified by the accretion of Holocenedune ridges which terminatedthe ocean- basinsurface cormection. Accumulation ofbasin evaporitesbegan about 5,800 years BP when Cygnet seepageface, the main portal for subsurfaceseawatel inflow, began dischargingseawater into thebasin (Shepherd, M. J. 1990).The floor of the 1ake,now about 3.2 mbsl, consistsof thin-beddedclays, silts and minor sand, and evaporiticminerals including halite (sodium chloride), potash (potassiumcarbonate), aragonite (calcium carbonate)and gypsum(calcium sulphate).

Small isolatedpools of permanentwater occur in parts. Apart from flood eventsfollowing very heavy rainfall in the catchment,there is little direct overlandor surfacestream flow into the lake. Inflow or rechargeis achieved indirectly by subsurfaceinfiltration and lateral migration of water through Miocene limestonesand Quaternarysediments surrounding and underlying the lake. Rechargeis principally from the seaand very intermittently from inland drainages. The principal recharge to Lake Macleod occurs through an extaordinary hydrologicalphenomenon, a naturalpump. Hydrostaticpressure, generated by a 3 to 4m differencein level betweenocean and basin,forces s€awater laterally through the karstic Miocene limestonesto eventually dischargeas saltwatersprings and seepages(the Cygnet seepageface) along the western margin of Lake Macleod. This processconstantly replenishesthe brine in this vast evaporationbasin. Dischargerates are controlled by the relationship between the rate of seawater transmission (relatively constant) and the evaporationrate (Shepherd,M. J. 1990). Dischargerat€s can be high enoughto produce

LO jetting where water is dischargedin a continuous streamat high velocity through narrow vents, or so low as to be expressedonly as subsurfaceseepage. This seawaterfeedstock is subsequentlymodified by evaporation,infiltration andrunoff (Shepherd,M. J. 1990).

Secondary,ephemeral recharge occws via inland drainagetracts, the main onesbeing: (1) the Bullara Sunkland, (2) CardabiaCreek, (3) Lyndon River and (4) the Minilya River. The Bullara Srmkland(Fig. 14) is a linear, topographicallysubdued unit, occupying the Bullara Syncline and trending north-nodheastbetween the Rough and Giralia Ranges. It essentially provides a physiographicand hydrologic link betweenExmouth Gulf and Lake Macleod. Rainwaterfrom the sandplainand Giralia Rangecatchments is directedvia surficial sandand valley calcrete, and subsurfacelimestone aquifers either nodhwards to Exmouth Gulf or southwardsto Lake Macleod.

E Tcrrloryondcrorocsout .-l- A.tl.lin. Axas -F Syncllo.Atis

! tMDtaN ocEAN f /i

Figure 13. Map showingLake Macl€od,Bullara Sunkland and main anticlinal structures,Shark Bay to North West Cap€area (FromWyrwoll et al, 1993)

CardabiaCreek is an intermittentsouth-draining creek on the eastemside of Giralia Range. It consistsof numeroustibutaries incisedinto Cretaceoussediments in tlle upperreaches before infiltrating and disappearinginto Quatemarysediments, eventually dischmging into the far northernend, the 'panhandle',of LakeMacleod on thewest side of GinargooRange.

The Lyndon River is a short, generallywestward flowing river arising about 200 krn inland. It too has only intermittent surfacewater flow, most flow being in the subsurfacethrough the bedload sandsand gravels. Dischargeinto Lake Macleod is not direc! it appearsto form a subsurfaceconfluence with Cardabiaand Chinkia Creeks,approximately 15 km northeastof

27 Ginargoo Range, then together discharginginto Lake Macleod at its northern end. This confluenceor intermittent floodout area also supportsthe southern-mostextent of Mitchell grass (Astrebla sp.) in Western Austalia, in tum supporting the southem-mostextent of severalspecies of migratory plains birds including brolgasand jabrrus.

Minilya River is also a shortriver, generallywestward flowing with intermittent surfaceflow. Like the Lyndon, this river also disappearsinto Quaternary sedimentsjust southeastof GinargooRange before re-emergingas a seriesof small salineplayas between the small low- relief anticlinesand domesalong the eastemmargin of Lake Macleod. Theseplaya lakes are in hydrologic connectionwith, and form part of, the Lake Macleod basin.

5.5.5 PkistoeeneDune Desert

Disjunct remnants of a once widespreadPleistocene desert, characterisedby longitudinal (linear) dunesand sandplains, are found in the Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - Cape Range- ExmouthGulf area@ig. 1a). The main locationsare (1) at the far northemend of Cape Range,(2) flanking the southernend of CapeRange and extendingsouth betweenthe coast and the Bullara Sunkland, almost to Lake Macleod, and (3) east of Giralia Range and extending nodhwards into the southern and eastem parts of Exmouth Gulf, including locationssuch as Gales Bay andYanrey Tidal Flats.

Figure 14. Generalised distributionofsandplains and dune fields (stippled)in theNingaloo - CapeRange - ExmouthGulf area(Ilom Kendrick,1993)

Regionally, the dunestrend predominantlynorth or north-northeast,and even in the offshore areaswhere the deserthas been inundatedbv the sea.this trend is still evident from the dune remnants.

28 The following descriptionis largelybased on wyrwoll et al (1993),which in turn is basedon a review by Kendrick,Wyrwoll and Szabopublished in 1991. This authoris awarethat further researchon the dune sedimentswas plannedbut doesnot havethe results of this work to hand.

At the northem Cape Range location, some reliable thermoluminescencedates have been obtainedwhich yielded a Late PleistoceneLast Glacial Maximum age (23 and 16Ka). Climatic conditions were very arid and cold. These sedimentsoverlie Last Interglacial marine depositsand consist of red quartzosesand, wrth minimal profile differentiation. In contrast, the dune sandsof the Gales Bay arca contain more carbonate,probably through mixing with calcareousHolocene sediments, and have well developedprofi1e differentiation.

5.6 CAINOZOIC and CRETACEOUS FOSSILS

5,6.1 Coral Fauna

Exposed in the Giralia Range, the Cretaceousmarine fauna of the Miria Formation is dominatedby molluscsbut alsoincludes the mostdiverse assemblage of Mesozoiccorals in Australia (Jell, J. S. and Jell, P. A. 1998). One stylasterid,possibly the earliestknown occurrenceof this group, and ten speciesof aherma6pic scleractiniancorals, representing very early occurrences,are recognised. The only other Cretaceousoccurences for someof thesespecies are in Antarctica and southernIndia. A Maastnchtianage (71 - 65 Ma) for the faunais indicatedby associatedforaminifers and ammonites (Je11, J. S. andJe1l, P. A. 1998).

5,6.2 A TherapodDinosaur

In late 1991, the Miria Formation,again in the Giralia Range, also yielded Westem Australia'sfirst fossildinosaur bone. Foundby Mr GeorgeKendrick of the WA Museum,the weathered,partial humerus(upper arm) was from a meat-eatingtherapod dinosaur, but the speciescould not be determined(Long, J. 1993).

5.6.3 Crctdceousllood and anoxic events

The Cretaceousmarine inundationwas Australia's greatestflood (Fig. 15). It occurredat an important time in our geologicalevolution when the Australian confinentwas being shapedas a separateentity as the Indian and SouthernOceans progressively opened, along with globai and local climate changeand extinction events. Theseevents are recordedin the cretaceous rocks of the Ningaloo - CapeRange - ExmouthGulf area.

Figure 15. Extentof Cr€taceous (Aptian) marinetransgression (shaded) of Australia(from Campbell & Haig, 1999).

29 At the time of the greatCretaceous inundations, vast shallow seas formed along Australia's land margins including the onshore Camarvon Basin (the marginal seas) and across the continentalinterior (the interior seas). The inundationoccurred in two main cycles; the first transgressionoccuned during the Aptian- Albian (125- 100Ma), coveringabout 60% ofthe present-dayland area(Campbell, R. J. andHaig, D. W. 1999)and the secondpeaked during the Turonian (92 Ma) at 250 m above present day sea level, the highest level of the entire Phanerozoicera . Associatedwith the shallowCretaceous seas were major extinction events, inducedby oceanicanoxic events(OAEs). However,in orderto appreciatethe scientific importanceof the Cretaceousrocks in the Ningaloo CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf area,it is necessaryto understandcertain differencesbetween the marginal and the interior seas(Haig, D. W.2004).

Themarginal seas had the followingcharactenstics:

o Vastshallow seas, mostly less than 100m depth, . Generallygood hydraulic connection with the openocean (for the Nrngaloo- Cape Range- Exmouth Gulf area,this was the developingIndian Ocean), . Entirewater column reasonably well oxygenated, . Mostly suitablehabitat for open-marinetlpes ofzoo-and phytoplankton, . Subjectto tidal influenceand storm surges, o Moderateto high-energyshorelines.

In contrast,the intenor seashad the following characteristics:

o Vast,very shallowseas, many arcas less than 10 m depth, . Very low gradientsea floor (no shelfor basinareas), o Widespreadrestricted circulation and poor hydraulic connection with openocean, . Anoxic (Ozdepleted) bottom waters, . Low energyshorelines, o Suitablehabitat for estuarine-typesofzoo- and phfoplankton.

Modem analoguesof theseseas are the Gulf of Carpentariaand the Peel-HarveyEstuary, althoughthese are much lessextensive than the Cretaceousseas.

During the mid Cretaceous,the climateof WestemAustralia's coastal regions changed from humid to semi-arid. This causedmuch reducedstream inflow to the seas,inducing a change from predominantly very fine-grained, slow clastic sedimentationto predominantlypelagic biogenic carbonatedeposition. In tum, thesechanges caused a number of suddenand widespread anoxic events where the enthe water column became depleted in oxygen, resultingin the death of oxygen-dependentplankton and higher-ordermarine organisms. Extinction of existing speciesof planktonwas not completewith the first anoxic event; instead,it occurredprogressively in a stepwisemanner, which allowed,in time, speciationor modernisationof benthic plankton to take place in the period 90 to 86 Ma (D. Haig, pers. comm.,Aug 2004).

Recognitionof theseanoxic events is not possiblein the depositsof the interiorseas because of their normal condition of anoxic bottom waters. However, in the marginal seaswhere anoxicconditions were not the norm,these extinction-inducing events can be recognised,as recent work in the Giralia Rangeat C-Y Creek shows. Here, the principal event occurredat the Cenomanian- Turonianboundary, dated at 93.5Ma, just before maximumsea level (250m abovepresent level) at 92 Ma.

Much more detailed researchis required here to fully unravel the extinction events and subsequentspeciation of marineorganisms.

30 5.6,4 PleistoceneDune Desert

The Pleistocenedesert sands (Fig. 1a),apart from beingan importantindicator of extremely dry conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum, also have contempofaryecological importance. In the ofishore extensions,remnant dunes provide a suitablesubstrate on which patch corals develop in the subtidal zone and in the supratidal zone, patches of coarser iedimentaccumulate. Hope Island is a goodexample of the latter. Both situationsprovide very distinctecological zonation

Further inland, a mlriad of small swamps,lagoons and clalpans are located in the dune swales,and these are probably subject to a tidal-controlled,local ?freshor mixedgroundwater table. This is a semi-submergedsand dune landscape.

6 AssessmentAgainst World Heritage Criteria

6.1 INTRODUCTION

The Lake Macleod - Ningaloo - cape Range- Exmouth Gulf world Heritagestudy arealies within, and constitutesmost of the Carnarvon 1 Bioregion (CapeRange subregion)and the northwestcoastal portion of the camarvon2 Bioregion(wooramel subregion). climate is arid, sub-tropical iemi-desert with vanable summerand winter rainfall, tending to bimodal pattem. The landscapeconsists of a mosaicof ruggedMiocene limestone ranges supporting acaciashrubland over spinifex grassland, Pleistocene coastal sand plains and dunefields, tidal mud and sandflats, salinealluvial plains and playassupporting samphire and mangroves,and extensive red sand dunefields supporting sparse eucalypt and, acacia shrub steppe over spinifexgrassland (May, J. E. andMcKenzie, N. L' 2003).

The above description, with mention of the geologically young epochs Miocene and pleistocene,contrasts with the commonlyheld perceptionthat Australiais only comprisedof very old rocksand ancient, barely changed landforms. Indeed, the LakeMacleod - Ningaloo - cape Range- ExmouthGulf area,whilst beingthe productof long geologicalevolution stretihingback hundreds of millions of years,has also been geologically active in the recent past, creating a geomorphically young, rejuvenated and dynamic landscape' Deeply imbedded in the geologicalevolution and geomorphicdevelopment (descnbed previously in Section 5) is the co-evolutionof living organisms,as they adapt to changingclimatic conditionsand habitats. As a result,this areais rich in relictualand endemic species, adding to the very high conservationand scientific values.

Before undertakingthe valuesassessment, it is worth consideringsome basic conceptsin geologicalheritage and the meaning ofparticular words.

6.2 SOME CONCEPTSIN GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE

western Australia's rich naturalheritage includes the diversity of geologicalmaterials such as minerals,rocks, regolith and fossils, and the landformsand other physiographicfeatures with which they are expressedat the Earth's surface. Sometimescollectively referred to as geodiversity(cf. biodiversity),our geologicalheritage is the productof contemporaryand past climates and geological processes. Conservationof significant geological and geomorphologicalsites and featuresis fundamentalto the protection of our natural heritage, andto educationand research in the earthand biological sciences.

JI The conceptof significanceis of basic importancein the assessmentof geologicaland geomorphicfeatures and sites(Joyce, E. B. andKing, R. L. 1980). Joyce(1995) states that significanceis a functionof its valueor usein research,including as a reference,in education, and for aestheticor landscapequalities. The degreeof significanceis usually thought of as 'very 'very lying on a continuumbetween high' and low', or in a two-fold division, 'significant'or'not significant'. Importantly,the basison which significanceis assessedis 'outstanding' usuallyin one or two ways,namely, or'representative',and may be madeat local, regional, state,national or international/ World Heritagelevels. 'outstanding' 'representative'. Joyce (1995) discussesthe conceptsof and He finds, for 'unique' example, that use of the word ffequent\ causesconfusion by being made almost uselessor meaningless,through overuse, for the simplefact that eachand everygeological 'outstanding featureor site is unique in the strict senseof the word. The term is much more useful, particularly if supportedby discussionof the rarity of particular featuresor sites' An "adj. applicabledictionary definition of'outstanding' is prominent;conspicuous; striking; that continuesin existence;standing out; projecting; detached." (The MacquarieDictionary, 1999).

The conceptof 'representative',as clearly describedby Joyce(1995), allows a degreeof significanceto be attachedto one or more featureswhich best representa group of similar features. A representafivefeature need not be outstandingor striking, but need only be 'representative' typical of the goup it is to represent. A relevant dictionary definition of is "adj. Serving to represent;representing; exemplifuing a class; tlpical. r. an example or specimen;type; typical embodiment, as of somequality." (TheMacquarie Dictionary, 1999).

For World Heritage nomination however, it is clear that a natural heritage property [or featurel must be of "outstanding universal value" (World Heritage Operational Guidelines (WHC 2002), that is, assessmentneed only consider its value as an outstanding,but not necessarilyrepresentative, example. The level of assessmentis at the international/ World Heritage level, rather than at the lower national, state,regional or local levels. The World Heritageassessment criteria are outlined in Section6.3 below.

6.3 NATURAL HERITAGE PROPERTIES WORLDHERITAGE LIST CRITERIA

The following information is taken directly from the Operational Guidelines for the Implementationof the World HeritageConvention (WHC 2002).

43. In accordancewith Article 2 of the Convention,the following is consideredas "natural heritage":

"natural featuresconsisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations,which are of outstandinguniversal value from the aestheticor scientificpoint of view;

geological and physiographicalformations and precisely delineatedareas which constitutethe habitat of threatenedspecies of animalsand plants of outstanding universalvalue from the point of view of scienceor conservafion;

natural sites or precisely delineatednatural areasof outstandinguniversal value from the point of view of science,conservation or naturalbeauty".

44. A natural heritageproperty - as definedabove - which is submittedfor inclusion in the World HeritageList will be consideredto be of outstandinguniversal value for the ourposesof the Conventionwhen the Committeefinds that it meetsone or

)z more of the following criteria specified by the Ooerational Guidelines and fulfilling the conditions of integrity set out below.

Sitesnominated should therefore:

a. be outstandingexamples repres€nting major stages of Earth'shistory, including the recordof life, significantongoing geological processes in the development oflandforms,or signiflcantgeomorphic or physiographicfeatures; or 11. be outstandingexamples representing significant ongoing geological or biological processesin the evolutionand developmentof terrestrial,fiesh water, coastaland marine ecosystemsand communitiesof plants and animals; or 111. contain superlativenatural phenomenaor areasof exceptionalnatural beauty and aestheticimportance; or lv. contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened speciesof outstandinguniversal value fiom the point of view of scienceor conservatl0n; ana

b. alsofulfil the followingcondihons of integrity:

i. The sitesdescribed in 44(a)(i) shouldcontain all or most of the key interrelated and interdependent€lements in their natural relationships;for example, and "ice age"area should include the snowfleld, the glacieritself and samplesof cuttingpattems, deposition and colonisation(e.g. stnations, moraines, pioneer stagesof plant successions,etc.); in the caseof volcanoes,the magmaticseries shouldbe completeand all or mostofthe varietiesof effusiverocks and tlpes of eruptionsbe represented.

6.4 ASSESSMENTAND JASTIFICATION

6.4.1 Introduction and Summary Table of Values

The followingassessment and justification is basedon Critenon44 a i. This criterionfocuses on geologicaland geomorphologicalhistory and processes including the fossilrecord of life' Although clearly relatedto and dependenton theseprocesses, this assessmentdoes not consider on-going or contemporaryecological and biological processes;these are comprehensivelyconsidered in the Draft Nomination for the Cape Range-NingalooWorld HeritageProperty (GoWA in preP).

Being natural featuresor sites,each geological or geomorphicfeature is assessedfor its outstandinguniversal value (OUV) on the basis of aestheticor natural beauty, scientific and conservationvalues. Wherepossible, the boundaryof eachfeature, as shownin Figure 1, takesinto accountthe spatialrequirements of processesor phenomenaso asto containall or most of the key interrelatedand interdependentelements and to protect the feature'sheritage values from direct effects of human encroachmentand impacts of resourceuse arising from outsideof the nominatedarea. This aimsto satisfrthe World HeritageLisfing conditionsof inteeritv44 b i andvi.

JJ The following geologicaland geomorphological features are assessed:

1. CapeRange karst systemincluding Ningaloo Reef (geomorphicfeature), 2. Anticlinalranges (geological feature), 3. CapeRange wave-cut terraces (geomorphic feature), 4. Pleistocenedune desert (geomorphic feature) 5. Cainozoicand Cretaceoussediments and fossils (geologicalfeatures), and 6. Lake Macleod aquifer system(geomorphic feature).

For each,the assessmentand justification takesthe form of three subsectionscomprising an Introduction which provides a succinct summarybased on information more fully described in Section5, a descriptionor highhght of OutstandingAspects or Fealt,'es, and a commenton the Aesthetic,Scientific and ConservationValues. The values assessmenthas been summarisedin Table 3 below and the recommendedboundary to encompassthe geological andgeomorphic features for World HeritageListing is shownin Figure18.

Table 3 World Heritage natural heritage values and significancel matrix for geologicaland geomorphicfeatures, Lake Macleod - Ningaloo- CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf area(World HeritageCriteria).

CAPE CAINOZOIC & OUTSTANDING RANGE ANTICLINAL wAvf,-cuT PLEISTOCENE CRETACEOUS LAKE UNIVERSAL KARST RANGES TERRACES DUNE DESERT SEDIMENTS & MACLEOI) VALUE SYSTEM FOSSILS

AESTHETIC very High Low Low Low Moderate NATURAL Low BEAUTY

Very Very I/ery SCTENTIFIC Moderate Moderate Htgh High High High

Very Very l/ery CONSERVATION High Moderate High High High High

1. RatingScale : Very High High Moderate Low Very Low

Explanationofthe significanceattached to the World HeritageOutstanding Universal Values for eachof the featuresis givenbelow. A five (5) levelrating of significancefrom very low to veryhigh is usedhere.

6.4.2 Ningaloo Reef - CapeRange Karst System

6.4.2.1 Introduction

The Ningaloo Reef - Cape Range karst system is a complex hydrogeological system composed of various landforms, fluids, rocks, regolith and biological elements. Landforms

34 include Cape Range, coastal plains and Ningaloo Reef. The tenestrial elementsinclude solution and collapsesinkholes, karst etch plateau,episodic exsurgent springs, caves of various tjpes, alluvial fan depositsand the beachand dune deposits. Of the marine elements, Ningaloo Reef is clearly the most conspicuouselement. It is a major biokarstic feahre, classedas a ffinging reef some260 km long with the gaps or passagesin the reef probably due to the dischargeof freshwaterfrom subseakarst springs.

Interactions between these elements suppod complex temporal-spatial habitat-forming patterns and processes,and various life-forms, the maintenanceof which is driven by and highly dependenton the continuedmovement of air and water, both fresh and saline,through the physical spacesof the karst system. Meteoritic water, derived fiom ex-tropical cyclonic events(40%) and northwestcloud band disturbances(20%) comprisemost of the freshwater recharge,albeit intermittently, to the groundwatersystem. Apart from its role in erosionand karst dissolution, this water is utilised by various organismsas it passesthrough the vadose and phreatic zones. Seawaterhas a similar role in the marine and near shoreenvironments. In addition, the transition or mixing zone betweenthe freshwaterand saline water regimes and the closely relatedanchialine system are also importantaquatic habitats. Air, comprising CO2,o,2, Nz, other gasesand water vapour,is also an importantfluid in cave systems. Subterraneanclimates are generally more stable than at the surface (Hamilton-Smith, E., Kieman, K. et al. 1998). Humidity and temperatureremain fairly constantyear-rormd apart from, presumably,perhrbations causedby torrential rainfall events. The troglobitic fauna only occupiesthose caves or partsofcaves where humidity is greaterthan 90% (White, M. E. 1994). Little is known of the subterraneanatmospheres in the CapeRange karst systemapart from the occurrenceof high CO, levelsin somecaves at times- the periodicityand local controls of which are unknown, nor its significancefor the cave fauna (Hamilton-Smith,E., Kieman,K. et al. 1998).

6.4.2,2 OutstandingAspects or Features

The Ningaloo Reef - Cape Rangekarst systemhosts a rich subterraneanor cavemicolous faunacomprising a high proportionof locally disjunct,endemic and relictualspecies. For example,the terreshial invertebratefauna of beetles,spiders, cockroaches, slaters, crickets, scorpionsand millipedes, oncepart of a Miocenetropical rainforestleaf lifter commtmity,are now completely adaptedto, and confined to their deep cave habitat (White, M. E. 1994). Similarly, in the anchialine habitat on the coastal plain flanking Cape Range, the entire Australian subterraneanaquatic vertebrate troglobitic fauna is present, consisting of a gudgeon,an eel, two blind fish and crustaceans(!\4rite, M. E. 1994).

However, in regardto the biological elementsof this karst system,as outstandingas they are, it is not the purpose of this report to review their intrinsic World Heritage values; a comprehensiveassessment of biological values is provided in the Draft Nomination for the Ningaloo - CapeRange World HeritageProperty (GoWA in prep). Instead,this report aims to highlight the point that the CapeRange karst systemis a specialplace becauseits geological history has madeit so. This place is the sum of natural,dynamic geological and related processes,both past and ongoing.

The Cape Rangekarst systemhas resulted from the deposition of sedimentsdominated by pelagic biogenic carbonatefrom the mid-Cretaceous,a profound changefrom earlier clastic- dominatedsedimentation, followed by lithification ftasin subsidence,compaction and diagenesis)and eventualLate Miocene - Pliocenefolding and uplift, and post-Miocene exhumation(see Section 5.4 for details).All ofthesestages are directly related to the rifting and separationof CrreaterIndia from Australia, as part of Gondwananbreak-up. The exhumation or emergence of Cape Range and associated anticlinal ranges, and the

J) concomitantinifiation of speleogenesisoccurred during a wet climatic phasewith subsequent karstification occurring mostly under arid periglacial conditions,but now continuing under warm arid conditions.This is important.The geologicaland climatic processes have driven biological evolution, the remarkablespeciation and adaptationis wonderfully demonstrable here.

6,4.2.3 Aesthetic.Scientific and ConservationValues

The overallaesthetic or naturalbeauty value of theNinsaloo Reef- CapeRanee karst svstem is consideredto be hieh. From the crestalparts of CapeRange, the west-viewpanorama takes in the western flank of the range (foreground), the coastal plain and near-shorefiinging Ningaloo Reef set in the clear lagoonal waters on the edge of the vast Indian Ocean. Panoramicviews to the east take in the steepereastem flank of Cape Range, the narrow coastalplain and the expansiveshallow waters of Exmouth Gulf. Views along the crest of CapeRange, to the north and to the south,although less outstanding, nevertheless also capture the essentialnaturalness of the land and seascapes.The terrestrial karst landforms alone do not constituteoutstanding aesthetic features, however, from within deeplydissected gorges, a strongfeeling of isolationand wildernessis usuallyengendered within oneself. Ningaloo Rebfis however,an outstandingfeature at obsewationalscales ranging ffom satelliteimages, to light aircraft flyovers and to an individual snorkellingon the reef.

The scientific value of the Ningaloo Reef - CapeRange karst svstemis consideredto be verv hish. Whilst few of the geologicalprocesses or stagesoutlined above (and in moredetail in Sections5.4 and 6.4.3), when consideredindividually, constitutespecial or outstanding geologicalfeatures (except for the Cretaceouscarbonate deposition and associatedextinction events;considered in Section6.4.6 below, and the Miocene uplift event; consideredin Section6.4.3 below), when considered as a sequence,then this areais an outstandingexample of geomorphicdevelopment of a coastalkarst landscapeunder initially high then irregular, low rainfall (arid) conditions. There are no similar karst systems,located on a passive continental rift margin, in Australia or, as far as this author is aware, any other part of the former Gondwanansupercontinent. This is an extraordinarygeological situation ansing from the culminationofa seriesof (mostly)ordinary geological events.

Becausethe karst syst€m is well exposed,the area also provides excellent opporhmity to furtherlnowledge of the geomorphicprocesses and history. Aspectsthat requirespecific studyinclude cave and speleothemformation rates, the relationship ofcave baselevelsto sea levels, developmentmorphology of the tenestrial karst types including the etch plateau,and developmentrelationships between the terrestrialand marine (reef) karst elements.

The consewationvalue of the NingalooReef - CapeRanee karst svstem is consideredto be very hish. Clearly, it is absolutely necessaryto maintain the integrity of the abiotic componentsof this complex hydrogeologicalsystem in order to maintain the habitats and dependentlife forms. Critically, the compositionalquality and flow regimesof a1lfluids must not be compromised;it is highly likely that the habitat requirementsfor the cavernicolous fauna, for example, are tightly constrained and thus any rapid deviation from usual conditions,arising fiom humanactivities, is likely to seriouslythreaten these communities.

In regard to the geologicaland geomorphologicalaspects, conservation of the abiotic components(the rocks and regolith) is also essentialfor the continued elucidation of karst landscape evolufion during the Miocene - Pliocene, and contemporary karstification processesoccurring in thePleistocene sediments.

JO 6.4.3 TheAnticlinal Ranges

6,4.3.1 Introduction

The anticlinal rangesinclude the limestoneranges formed by the CapeRange, Rough Range, Giralia and Marrilla Anticlines(and associated synclines) and associatedfaults suchas the CapeRange, Paterson, Rough Range,Giralia, Yanrey and WandageeFaults occurring in the northem parts of the areaand the smaller, less conspicuousanticlines delimiting the westem and eastemmargins of the Lake Macleod panhandle. The largest anticline in this southem echelon group forms the Gnargoo Range and Cape Range is the largest of the peninsula ranges.

These structuresresulted from Late Miocene or possibly early Pliocene, west-northwest- east-southeastdirected compressionalong the margins of the Gascoyneand Exmouth Sub- basins (and the Barrow Sub-basinfurther to the northeast) and constitute the last major tectonic readjustmentepisode following the Australia- GreaterLndia break-up, and the newly developingAushalian - Asian platescollision (Bunda arc I Iava Trench)along Australia's northwestemmargin in the Timor area(Veevers, J. J. 1984;Malcolm, R. J., Pott,M. C. et al. 1991).

6.4.3.2 OutstandingAspects or Features Thereare two outstandinggeological aspects.

The first aspectconcems transfer and tear faults. Southwesterlytrending tear faults, which formed on the Bundegi and Ningaloo Tenaces and PatersonTrough during the earliest Cretaceousas part of the last major syn-rift pulse (final break-up),curve westwardto merge with older major transfer faults. Significant amounts of lateral and vertical movement occurredalong the transferfaults (Malcolm,R. J., Pott, M. C. et al. 1991)and significant oblique-slipand block rotation occurred along the tear faults (Fig. 16)'

-<,tl

--€'

Figure 16. Schematicrelationship between two tearfaults, formed contemporaneously with rifting and mergingwith the CapeRange Transfer (transform) Fault, andthe RoughRang€ and Learmonth (detachment)Faults (from Malcolm et al, l99l).

37 Apart from its role in the formation of hydrocarbon structural traps in this region, the structural architectureevident here provides an outstandingexample of basin deformation mechanismswhen there is a major shift in orientationand location of spreadingcentres. As describedin Section 5.4, the Exmouth Sub-basinhas been affected by two main tectonic break-upphases. The first in the Late Jurassic(Oxfordian) involved the creationof the Argo Abyssal Plain and the second at earliest Cretaceoustime, involved the creation of the Gascol.neand Cuvier Abyssal Plains with the separationof Greater India from Australia. Magneticanomaly trends show a 40orotation between these two phases(Veevers, J. J. 1984 p.185;Malcolm, R. J., Pott,M. C. et al. 1991)and the tear faults described earlier, are a clear expressionof this change. This changein orientation of spreadingaxes also explains the shapeof the continentalmargin, broadly reflectedby the present-daycoastline, with the Cape Rangearea being the pivot aboutwhich the rotation occurred. This is an outstandingexample of a padicular structuralregime in a divergentpassive margin setting.

The secondoutstanding geological aspect is relatedto the Late Miocene- early Pliocene major compressionevent that affectedthe entire westemmargin of Australia. It is, however, bestexpressed in the Ningaloo- CapeRange region because of the atypicallow-angle listric geometry of the older faults along the Exmouth Basin eastemmargin. This rmusual fault geometry maximised the uplift effect of the lateral reverse movement (thrust) on the reactivatedfaults (Malcolm, R. J., Pott,M. C. et al. 1991). In particular,the CapeRange and Rough Range Anticlines formed by thrust movement along low-angle listric detachment faults, the Learmonth and Rough Range Faults. Importantly however, "the southem extensionof the LearmonthFault, because of its basinwardposition, accommodated much of the Miocene- Pliocenecompression, resulting in thenorthem end ofthe RoughRange Fault beingsheltered from reversemovement" (Malcolm, R. J.,Pott, M. C. et al. 1991p.170). This aspect now provides an outstanding example for the stqdy of the Miocene - Pliocene thrusting, from weakly affected to strongly affected parts along strike, as the northwest of Australia changesfrom a passivedivergent margin to an active convergentmargin. There are no other age-equivalentexamples on the former Gondwananconhnents.

6.4,3.3 Aesthetic.Scientific and ConservationValues The overallaesthetic or naturalbeauty value of the anticlinalranges is consideredto be low. Although forming part of a landscapeof overall high aestheticvalue, the rangesthemselves arenot outstandingor striking topographicfeatures. CapeRange, the largestand highest(31 1 m) of the anticlinal ranges, does dominate the peninsula area but when consideredin the World context,is an insignificant feature.

The scientific value of the anticlinal raneesis consideredto be verv hieh. For the geological reasons described above, the anticlinal ranges and associatedstructures are outstanding exampleshighly suitablefor further researchand for educationaland referencepurposes.

The conservationvalue of the anticlinal rangesis consideredto be verv hiqh. Given that the anticlinal ranges,as geologicalfeatures, host the karst system(considered above), the Cretaceoussediments and fossils (consideredbelow), the Lake Macleod hydrogeological systemand other geomorphicfeatures (considered below), each of which has high or very high scientific and/or conservationvalues, then it is clear that the anticlinal rangesmust have at leasthigh conservationvalue. This recognisesthe World Heritageintegrity criterion.

6,4,4 CapeRange Wave-cutTerraces

6.4.4,1 Introduction A series of conspicuous,well-preserved wave-cut shorelineterraces or benchesand associatedseaward thinning sediment wedges and coralline deposits occur on the lower

38 westemflank of CapeRange. The terracesare a characteristicgeomorphic feature of the area. As previouslydescribed in Section5.5.2, these terraces provide a physicalrecord of the Late Mioceneto Pleistoceneuplift history of the CapeRange area, the tectonicaspects of which aredescribed in Sections5.4 and6.4.3.

Unforn.rnately,numerical dating of the terracesis still very incompleteand thus the detailed Pleistoceneuplift, and geomorphicand biologicalch,ronologies are not yet comprehensively known. However, there are two regional aspectsworth noting. The first concernsthe lowest bench, the Tantabiddi. The age of the Tantabiddi Member has been establishedas Late Pleistocene(numerical datesin the range 132 127 Ka) but rnay range back to the Middle Pleistoceneif suspectedmultiple marine transgressions prior to the highstandsea level of the Last Interglacialcan be established(Wyrwoll, K.-H., Kendrick,G. W. et al. 1993).Temporal correlation betweenthe Tantabiddi Member and the Bibra Formation of Shark Bay is now likely (W1rwoll,K.-H., Kendrick,G. W. et al. 1993),providing support to the regionalextent of the LastInterglacial sea levels.

The secondconcerns the palaeo-cours€of the Ashburton River. Near Vlaming Head, the pebblefiaction in a basalconglomerate of the MilyeringMember (on the Milyering Tenace) containsclasts of Archaeanbasement rocks. As Wywoll et a1(1993) state, this assemblage resemblesthe presentbedload ofthe AshburtonRiver near Onslow, some 50 1cnto the east, suggestingthat during the Miocene-Pliocenedeformation of the area,the lower reachesof the Ashburton(or other river) was locatedin the vicinity of CapeRange. The authoris not aware of any studiesbeing done, such as interpretationof nighftime thermal infrared images,to establishpalaeodrainage tracts.

6.4.4.2 OutstandingAspects or Features Coastaltectonics is focussedon the formation and deformationstyles and rates of emergent marine strandlines,of which the Cape Rangeterraces are an exampleof one type. Marine strandlines are the most common tectonic markers in the Quatemary geomorphic record (Lajoie, K. R. 1986)and rapidly becomeless common in older sequences.Mapping and dating of strandlinesaims to separatevertical crustalmovements fiom past sealevel changes. The most profound differencesin geomorphiccharacteristics are found betweenthe rugged erosionalcoastlines along active convergentplate boundanesand the subduedsediment- accretionarycoastlines along passive continental margins (Lajoie, K. R. 1986). Examplesof passive-margin coastlines are the southeast coast of North America and the shallow epicontinentalseas in the HudsonBay area,and the northeastcoast of Australia. Examplesof active margin coastsinclude the Huon Peninsulaon the northem coastof PapuaNew Guinea, and the hilly to mountainousPacific coastlinesof North and SouthAmerica.

An importantpoint is that,according to Lajoie(1986), strandlines older than about 400 Ka are poorly preservedin areasof rapid uplift (> 4 m,Ka) owing to subaerialerosion and stream incisionwhereas strandlines up to 2.4 Ma maybe preservedon stableor slowlyrising coasts. The Cape Range terracesare outstandingexamples formed in a passive divergent-margin coastal setting transitional to an active convergentmargin (previously describedin Section 6.4.3). The age of the lowestand youngestterrace is about 130 Ka; the age of the oldest terraceis unknown but could be earliestPleistocene (1.8 Ma), and in regional aspects, complementsand partially overlapsthe Upper Quaternarychanges recorded in the coral reef terracesat HuonPeninsula, Papua New Guinea(Chappe1l, J. 2003).

6.4.4.3 Aesthetic,Scientific and ConservationValues The overall aestheticor natural beauty value of the Cape Range wave-cutterraces is consideredto be low. In comparisonto theremarkable tenaces at HuonPeninsula (Chappell, J. 2003),the massivesteplike series of terraceson the PalosVerdes Peninsula of southem

39 California(Lajoie, K. R. 1986),the Thousand-tileRock on the north coastof Ho-pin Island, Taiwan, and tenace complexesin other locations,the CapeRange terraces do not standout.

The scientific value of the CaoeRange wave-cut terraces is consideredto be moderate. For the geologicalreasons described above, the terracesand associatedsediments are outstanding, very well preservedexamples, highly suitable for firrther researchand for educationaland referencepuposes. These terraceswill be essentialfor the detailedresolution of Late Miocene to Quatemarycrustal uplift and glacio-eustaticsea level changesin the northwest region of Australia and acrossthe continent. The global relevanceis difficult to assess without the age of the oldest terracebeing known; the older the age, the greaterthe global relevance.

The conservationvalue of the CapeRanee terraces is consideredto be high. In order to yield high quality scientific data, the terracesmust be substantially conserved,so that critical exposuresand locations,some probably not yet known, are not destroyed. It should also be highlighted that the lowest tenace (Tantabiddi)carries fossil reef fauna with strong species overlap with the adjacent living reef (Ningaloo Reef), thus enhancing the high natural integrityof the area. This authorconcurs with Hamilton-Smithet al (1998p.33) whenthey point out that'the largelyunstudied terraces...are a tesource of enormousgeomorphological importance that offer the prospect of dating cave development,valley incision and relief evolution,terrace formation, and the ageand rates ofcoastal uplift."

6,4.5 PleistoceneDune Desert

6.4.5.1 Introduction The present-dayPleistocene dune fields, now disjunctremnants of a once very extensive desert,are located at the nodhern end of CapeRange, flom the southemend of CapeRange south almost to Lake Macleod, and east of Giralia Range extending northwards into Exmouth Gulf. Apart from coastal areas influenced by Holocate carbonate sands, the Pleistocenesands are reddish to brown and quartzosewith somecarbonate segregations.

The desertformed during the Last Glacial Maximum (between1'6 and 23 Ka), reflecting very arid, windy and cold climatic conditions. It is likely that the duneshave been extensively reworkeddunng the variousarid phasesof the Pleistocene.With the rise of sealevel since that time, the dune field hasbeen partly inundatedby the watersof Exmouth Gulf. In the area lnown as Yamey Tidal Flat, a Holocene tidal flat, longitudinal dune remnants provide suitablesubstrate for patchcoral development (W1twoll, K.-H., Kendric\ G. W. et al. 1993) and further inland, a mlriad of small brackish-waterswamps and lagoonshave formed in the duneswales.

6.4.5.2 OutstandingAspects or Features The most outstandingaspect of the Pleistocenedrme desert is the important role that dune refimantshave played in the developmentof supratidalaccumulations, as islands within the tidal flats, allowing the developmentof very distinctecological zona,tion (Wyrwoll, K.-H., Kendrick,G. W. et al. 1993).Hope Island, having a coreof largelinear drmes, is an excellent example.

6.4.5.3 Aesthetic,Scientific and ConservationValues The overall aestheticor natural beautvvalue ofthe Pleistocenedune desed is consideredto be low. Although these sedimentshave contributed substantially to the geomorphic and therefore ecological diversity of the area,their intrinsic natural beauty in comparisonto the

40 very extensivedune desertssuch as the Little and Great SandyDeserts of WestemAustralia, and other desertsin the World, is 1ow.

The scientificvalue of the Pleistocenedune desert is consideredto be moderate.At North West Cape,the Pleistocenedunes overlie Last Interglacial marine sediments,therefore post- dating that time and elsewhere,overlie coastal and allulral sediments(Wyrwoll, K.-H., Kendrick, G. W. et al. 1993) providing evidence for the advance of the dune desert concomitant with increasingly arid conditions in the Late Pleistocene. These sediments provide very valuable palaeoclimaticinformation for this important period in ow ecological history.

The conservationvalue of the Pleistocenedune desert is consideredto be moderate.Apart fiom being a repositoryof palaeoclimaticinformation, these sedimentsalso have very importantcontemporary ecological roles. Onerole, as a marinesubstrate, has been described previously(Section 6.4.5.3). Another role is as very significantrainfall infiltration zones providing rechargeto the fresh groundwatersystem in the Bullara Sunklandand other areas.

6.4.6 Cainozoicand CretaceousSediments and Fossils

6.4,6.1 Introduction Cainozoic(Tertiary) and Cretaceoussediments, containing very important fossils, crop out in the Giralia Range. This anticlinal range extendsfrom SandalwoodPeninsula at the southern endof ExmouthGulf south-southwestto Round Knob Hill, a distanceof about100 km. It has been extensivelyeroded, exposing substantial areas ofCretaceous sediments in the core ofthe fold andCainozoic sediments in the deeplydissected western limb.

A number of palaeontologicalaspects make this an area of considerableinterest and importance. The first concernsCretaceous microfossil assemblages. With the Cretaceous break-upof Gondwanaand high globalsea levels, Cretaceous sediments are well represented in Australasia in extensive passive margin basins and vast interior (intracratonic) seas (Henderson,R. A., Crampton,J. S. et al. 2000). The interiorseas were essentially estuarine and closed,covering more than 60V:o of Australia'spresent day land surface,with waterdepth lessthan 100metres (Campbell, R. J. and Haig, D. W. 1999). The marginalseas, although shallowas well, were opento the youngIndian Ocean and providedwell stratifiednormal- marinedepositional conditions (Haig, D. W., Watkins,D. K. et al. 1996).

A diverseassemblage of foraminifera,nanoplankton and radiolaria is foundin the deposited sediments. These microfossils have been, and continue to be, essential in palaeobiogeographicstudies. For example,it hasbeen recognised that openmarine surface- water temperatureschanged dunng the Cretaceousfrom warm (Tethyan) to cool, that differencesin salinity,temperature and dissolvedoxygen levels existed between the silled interior seasand the marginal seas,and that rapid evolution in the Australian formaminifera occurred(Henderson, R. A., Crampton,J. S. et al. 2000). Furthermore,as describedin Section5.6.3, it hasbeen established that a seriesof majorextinction events during the Early Cretaceous(Aptian-Albian and Turonian)marine flooding of the continent,were causedby a seriesof oceanicanoxic events (OAEs).

The secondpalaeontological aspect concems vertebrate and invertebratemacrofossils. The following list and brief descripfionsare extracts from an undated (?2003) letter from Drs Long and McNamara (WA Museum) to Mr Blake (owner, Giralia station) regarding the significanceof theGiralia Range fossil sites.

41 a. This is the only significant Cretaceous- Tertiary (K-T) boundary sequencein Australia. b. The Mina Formationhas the mostdiverse late Maastrichtian ammonite assemblage in the World, with importantbiogeographic links to Antarctica,South America, India and North America (Henderson,R. A. and McNamara,K. L. 1985a; 1985b; Henderson,R. A., Kennedy,W. J. et al. 1992). The Miria Formationalso producesthe greatestdiversity of late Maastrichtian gastropods,brachiopods and bivalves in Australia,also with importantbiogeographic links(Darragh, T. A. andKendrich G. W. 1991a;1991b; Craig, R. S. 1999,2000). The Miria Formationhas produced Australia's largest pterosaur (based on a partial ulnabone), a flying reptilewith 3.9to 5 mehewingspan (Bennett, S. C. andLong, J. A. 1991), Australia'smost diverseLate Cretaceousshark tooth assemblageand importantrecords of a therapoddinosaur bone (Long, J. A. \992) andmosasaur bones (Long,J. A. 1998). The CardabiaFormation has producedAustralia's richest Palaeoceneechinoid assemblage,and is oneof themost diverse in theWorld (McNamara,K. L. 1999). f. The BoongeroodaGreensand has produced a diverseassemblage of Palaeoceneshark teeth,with the first and only recordsof somespecies (Palaeocarcharodon, otod.us ob I iquus) for Australia. The BoongeroodaGreensand also containsan importantbrachiopod (Tegulorhynchia boongeroodanesis)(McNamara, K. L. 1983). Evolutionof this brachiopodand its descendantshas become a classicexamDle ofevolution. read from the fossilrecord.

6.4.6,2 OutstandingAspects or Features As a palaeontologicalsite, the Giralia Rangeis outstandingfor its richnessof macro-and microfossilsand due to the extensiveCretaceous outcrop, is a superblocation that is contributingto regionaland globalbiogeographic and zoogeographic studies. An exampleis the resolution of dinosaur forms - whether they represent extensive intercontinental distributions or Australian endemic forms convergent on the forms of other continents (Henderson,R. A., Crampton,J. S. et al. 2000).

Anotherexample concems the Cretaceousmarine biota. It is stronglypandemic with westem Europeand North America,adoss groupsas disparateas reptiles,ammonites, bivalves and foraminifera, such as is found in the Upper MaastrichtianMiria Formation,probably due to the developing seawayconnection between the Tethys and new Indian Ocean at that time (Henderson,R. A., Crampton,J. S. et al. 2000).

Finally, the Giralia Rangeis the only significantCretaceous - Cainozoic(Tertiary) (K-T) boundarysequence in Australia.

6.4.6.3 Aesthetic,Scientific and ConservationValues The overall aestheticor natural beautyvalue of the Giralia Rangefossil sites is consideredto be very low. Although occurringin a conspicuous,dissected range, which dominatesthe local landscape,the siteshave little intrinsicaesthetic appeal.

The scientificvalue of the Giralia Ranqefossil sitesis consideredto be verv hish. For the scientific reasonsoutline above, the Cainozoic and Cretaceoussediments and fossils occurring in this area are very important for Australian and global palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic and other studies to further understandingof the transition from strongly pandemicto strongly endemicspeciation as Gondwanafragmented.

The conservationvalue of the GiraliaRanee fossil sites is consideredto be high. Clearly,in order for the scientific studieshighlighted aboveto be undertaken,the sedimentsand fossils

42 need to be conserved. Studies are continuingand accessto undisturbedsites and irslra material needsto be maintained.

6.4.7 Lake Macleod

6,4.7,l Introduction

Lake Macleod is a large, salinecoastal lagoon or saltlake, and is the surfaceexpression of 'window' or into an important and remarkablehydrogeological groundwater system. The lake lies at the southern end of Bullara Sunkland, a linear topographically subdued physiographicunit occupying the Bullara Syncline (which at its northem end, lies between the Cape Range and Giralia RangeAnticlines). Other physiographicunits involved in the hydrologicsystem include the low anticlinallimestone 'ranges' to the eastand west of the lake'panhandle',the small playa lakes,sandplains and inland drainages(Cardabia Creek, Lyndon and Minilya Rivers) to the eastof the lake, and the sandycoastal plain and oceanto the west. Theseunits are described in moredetail in Section5.5.4

6.4.7.2 OutstandingAspects or Features The lake systemsupports a rangeof habitatsincluding salt pans,mangrove stands, saltbush and samphireplains, and is a major migration stopoverand drought refugia for shorebirds. These wetland habitats and the dependentbiota are described more fully in the Draft Nomination for the Ningaloo - CapeRange World HeritageProperty (GoWA in prep).

Apart from the biological aspects,the outstandingfeature ofthis lake is its principal recharge mechanism. Hydrological rechargeinvolves the lateral movementof seawaterfrom the coast to the lake, throughhighly permeable,karst limestoneaquifers over a distanceofup to 20 kn. The difference in water level between the ocean and basin generateshydrostatic pressure, forcing seawaterinland to the lake, ultimately dischargingas springsand maintainingseveral permanentpools and brine sheets. The hydrologic environmenthas been comprehensively studiedby researchersffom The Universityof WestemAustralia fsee Shepherd (1990) and referencestherein]. This remarkablehydrogeological recharge mechanism is largely intact andis oneofonly six locationsglobally, several of whichare degraded.

There is also episodic freshwater recharge via surficial drainages, only becoming volumetrically significant following heavyrainfall eventsin the catchment.Nevertheless, this rechargemay be very significant in maintainingan anchialinehabitat for cavemicolousbiota in the peripheralMiocene limestoneaquifers. This aspectis also yet to be comprehensively studied.

6,4.7,3 Aesthetic.Scientific and ConservationValues The overallaesthetic or naturalbeautv value oflake Macleod is consideredto be moderate. Assessingthe aesthehcor natural beauty of Lake Macleod is difficult. Although it is a landscapefeature of considerableextent, comprisedof a range of landforms and habitats, comparable in natural beauty with other major salt lakes of the World such as Lake Disappointment,Westem Australia, Lake Elre (North and South), South Aushalia and the GreatSalt Lake, Utah, it is lessscenically sriking thanmany other, albeit fieshwater, lakes of theWorld. If comparedonly with othersalt lakes, then its valuewould be 'high'.

The scientific value of Lake Macleod is consideredto be high. The Lake Macleod hydrological seawaterrecharge system is outstandingand highly unusual, and in excellent functional condition. Interaction of freshwater recharge in the anchialine zone and its importance in habitat and speciesmaintenance is also under studied. Further scientific investigationshere and in the relatedCape Range karst system,are likely to reveal evenmore

43 ecologicallysignificant abiotic and biotic relationshipsin theseremarkable surface and subterraneanecosystems.

The conservationvalue of Lake Macleod is consideredto be very hiqh. Clearly, in order for future scientific studiesto be undertaken,the geomorphic,habitat and biological components need to be conserved. However, the principal reasonfor a 'very high' value is that Lake Macleod is critically important for life-cycle maintenanceof severalwater and wading birds which breed here, and as a stop-over location for migratory shorebirds;these aspectsate comprehensivelycovered in the Draft Nomination for the Ningaloo - Cape Range World HeritageProperty (GoWA in prep).

7 Synthesis & Conclusions

Clearly, the Ningaloo - CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf areahas diverseand remarkablenatural environments.Even with the limited biologicalstudies of the mea,the rich cavemicolous fauna of the limestone karst systemis widely recognised. This fauna, which has probably been better studiedthan the surfaceinvertebrate fauna and possibly even the flora, containsa high proportion of endemic genera and species, extensive adaptation to subterranean conditions,and markedly disjunct elements,either from their usualhabits or only known from othercontinents. Explanation of thesebiogeographic aspects and pattems is incompletebut is closelyrelated to thegeological evolution ofthe area.

This report describesthe geologicalevolution and geomorphicfeatures ofthe area,in order to provide context for its biological evolution (addressedelsewhere) as part of its nominationfor inclusionon the World HeritageList for its naturalfeatures. A discussionof aspectsof geologicalheritage is givenin Section6.2 and specificcriteria for assessingthe outstanding universalvalue, including the important attributeof completenessor integrity, are provided in Section6.3. For eachthe thee componentsof the World HeritageOutstanding Universal Value (OUV), namely aestheticor natural beauty, scientific and conservationvalues, a five tier rating systemis used,ranging from very low to very high value. The assessmentis at intemationalor global leve1,rather than the lower national,regional or local levels.

Whilst the areais subjectto claims on its naturalresources, principally high-gradelimestone, hydrocarbons,water, native forage, sceneryand wildemess,this synthesisof geological and relatedknowledge is doneobjectively, without favour or prejudiceto thevarious resource-use proponents. If nomination succeeds,it is an essentialrequirement that a managementplan be developed for the property in order to meet a number of primary managementobjectives including but not limited to the protection, conservationand presentationof the World Heritage values, however the effect of meeting this and the other objectives on individual stakeholdersand enterprises is not consideredhere.

The tectonic and sedimentaryprocesses, and the landscapeand biological evolution of the Ningaloo - CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf areaare very closely related to the break-upofthe Gondwanansupercontinent. This processcommenced well to the northwest on the Argo AbyssalPlain at aboutmid-to late-Jurassictime, then progressively 'unzipped' our continent in an anticlockwisedirection. For the Ningaloo - CapeRange - Exmouth Gulf area,the onset ofrifting andgeneration ofnew seaflooron the Gascoyreand Cuvier Abyssal Plains occurred at the start of the CretaceousPeriod (141 Ma). The CamarvonBasin, which had formed much earlier as an intracratonicbasin in responseto failed rifting events,became much more achve. With the progressiveseparafion of Greater India fiom Australia, mostly marine sedimentation occurred in various subsiding continental-margin basins, including the Exmouthand GascoyneSub-basins. These sub-basins contain the rocksnow exposedin the Ningaloo- CapeRange - ExmouthGulf area. Climaticand depositional conditions changed at mid-Cretaceoustime, resultingin the depositionof mainly pelagicbiogenic carbonates,

44 part of which are now exposedas the characteristiclimestone karst in the rangesofthe area. The main post-Jurassicsedimentary units are (in stratigraphicyounging order): the Early CretaceousWinning Group,mainly comprisedof clastic sediments,then the conformably overlyingLate Cretaceouscarbonate units Toolonga Calcilutite, Miria Marl, followedby the PalaeogeneCardabia and Giralia Calcarenites, and finally theNeogene Cape Range Group.

The ranges,of which CapeRange is the largest,were formedthrough tectonic compressionin the LateMiocene or earlyPliocene, in responseto initial collisionbetween the Australianand Asian platesalong the BandaArc - JavaTrench in the Indonesianarchipelago. Following this uplift and later sealevel fall, the areahas been subject to variouscoastal marine and terrestrialgeomorphic processes. These processescontinue, and are essentialfor the maintenanceof habitatsand the variouslife forms they contain.

Oneof the moststriking geomorphic processes has been the developmentofthe karstsystem. ComprisingCape Range,the fringing Ningaloo Reef and coastalplains, it is a complex hydrogeologicalsystem, with an 'island-type'aquifer regime, which supportsa distinctive cavemicolousbiota. Geomorphically,it is an outstandingexample of karstificationinitiated during a wet climatic phasebut mostly developedunder severearid glacial or periglacial conditions,and now providing refugia habitatsunder present-day warm, dry conditions. This landform has high natural beauty values, very high scientific values and very high conservationvalues.

Althoughhosting the karstsystem, the anticlinalranges are also considered as geological and landscapefeatures in their own right. The rangesare dominatedby the Cape and Giralia Ranges,but also include RoughRange and severalother low rangesto the south in the Lake Macleod area. Geologically,they are outstandingexamples of an unusual,well preserved tectonic style, involving transferand tear faults, arising from a major shift in orientationand location of spreadingcentres fiom the Argo AbyssalPlain to the Cuvier - Gascol.neAbyssal Plains. Typified by Cape Range, the atypical fault geometry maximised the uplift effect arising from the early Pliocene or Late Miocene compression,and co-beneficially, demonstratesvery well, the tectonic transition from a passive divergent margin (the separationof Greaterfrom Australia) to an active convergentcontinental margin (Australian- AsianPlates collision). Accordingly,the scientificvalues for geologicalresearch, educational and referencepurposes are very high, as are the conservationvalues. When consideredalone and srmplyas landscape features, the natural beauty values are low. CapeRange in particular does contribute to the high aesthetic values of the whole area, mainly as an elevated 'platform' from whichto view the wonderfulland and seascape panoramas.

On the westem flank of Cape Range four principal wave-cut terracesare particularly well preserved. These geomorphicfeatures developed as sea levels fell, reflectinghighstand strandlines.Although incompletely studied, they constitutekey piecesof evidenceof local and regionalPleistocene sea levels. Also importantin Pleistocenestudies are the dune deserts. Like the terraces, these sedimentsare incompletely studied but are providing valuable palaeoclimaticinformation for the Late PleistoceneEpoch. Overall however, the global scientificsignificance of the terracesand desertsediments is probablylimited and accordingly,the World Heritagescientific values are moderate; if however,any of the tkee presently undatedterraces prove to be older than 400 Ka, then the Global scientific value would be increasedconsiderably. The naturalbeauty values for both geomorphicfeatures are low, but the conservationvalues are high, consistent with the veryhigh conservationvalues of the CapeRange karst system and the anticlinal ranges.

Cainozoicand Cretaceoussediments and fossils,very well exposedin the GiraliaRange and elsewhere,are of greatscientific importance. The Cretaceoussection ofthe geologicalrecord is providing evidence of very widespreadmarine transgressionsat this time and, more importantly,very detailedevidence of extinctionevents caused by oceanicanoxic events.

45 Importantly,recognition of theseanoxic events is not possiblein the depositsof the interior seasbecause of their normalcondition of anoxicbottom waters. However,in the marginal seaswhere anoxic conditions were not the norm, these extinction-inducingevents can be recognised,as recentwork rn the Giralia Rangeat C-Y Creekshows. Here,the principal event occurredat the Cenomanian- Turonianboundary, dated at 93.5Ma, just before maximum sea level (250m above present level) at 92Ma. This Cretaceousmarine inundationwas the highestofthe entire PhanerozoicEon and occurredat an importanttime in our geologicalevolution when the Australian continentwas being shapedas a separateentity asthe Indianand Southern Oceans progressively opened.

During this time and into the Cainozoic,biological evolutionresponded to substantial gradients in climatic pammeters,including stronger seasonalityand changed ocean temp€ratures,created principally by the re-arrangementof continentalmasses as Gondwana brokeup. This responseis reflectedin multiplewide-scale extinction and speciationevents, changing from strongly pandemic generic affinities to increasingly endemic patterns. The very rich vertebrateand invertebratefossil fauna of the Giralia Rangearea is provrding key information to the global understandingof this biological transition. The Giralia Range locationis the only significantCretaceous - Cainozoic(Tertiary) (K-T) boundarysequence in Australia. Accordrngly,the scientificvalues are very high,the conservationsvalues high and the aestheticvalues very low.

In th€ southof theproposed nomination area lies therenowned salt lake, Lake Macleod. It is a'window'into a substantialand remarkablesaline hydrogeological system, supporting an importantand complexecosystem. It hashigh World Heritagescientific values, very high conservationvalues and moderatenatural beauty values. Although located up to 20 km inland, rechargeis predominantly from the sea,via highly permeablesubsurface limestone aquifers,in responseto tidal 'pumping'. This very unusualrecharge mechanism has engenderedseveral saline habitats, notably including mangrovestands, samphire and saltbush flats. Importantly,it also providesan essentialstopover location for large numbersof mlgratory shorebirds. Lake Macleod is an outstandingnatural heritagefeature of national and intemationalimportance.

In conclusion,the Lake Macleod - Ningaloo CapeRange - ExmouthGulf areais gaining national and intemationalrecognition as a place of considerableimportance. It contributesan abundanceof outstandingnatural heritagefeatures, each with multiple intrinsic values (Table 3). Importantly,together, the geologicaland geomorphicfeatules, as outlinedabove and in more detail elsewherein this report, and the biological featuresdescribed in the Draft Nomination for the Ningaloo - CapeRange World HeritageProperty (GoWA in prep) present an intriguingstory of geologicaland biological co-evolution and interaction.These features are very well preservedand accessiblehere. This areais pivotal to the complexstory of Gondwanan ffagmentation, both in the tectonic sense of transposedand rotated oceanic spreadingcentres, and in thebiological sense ofthe changefiom pandemismto endemism.

An indicative boundaryfor an areathat could be nominatedunder natural heritage criterion (i) is shown on the map in Figure 17. This bormdaryis drawn to include the suite of features which, together,provide the evidenceof the geoevolutionaryhistory of the westemmargin of the Australianplate. The boundaryis alsodesigned to satisfurequirements for conditionsof integrity for this World Heritage criterion as defined in the OperationalGuidelines (WHC 2002).

46 Flgure 17. Indicative boundaryfor a World Heritagenomination under natuml heritagecriterion (i), geoevotutionaryhistory.

47 Clearly, biological evolution cannotbe 'divorced' from the geological 'substrate'on which it is flmdamentallydependent. Here, one is able to retracethe history of evolution flom entirely marine-basedlife to mixed marine and terrestrial life. Emergenceof the Ningaloo - Cape Range- Exmouth Gulf areareflects sealevel changesresulting from the interactionbetween tectonics and climate. Compressedinto the geological record is evidence of continental rifting, new oceaniccrust and new oceaniccurrents, melting and freezing of polar icecaps, uplift of new continental margin and changedsediment depositional regimes. The high concentrationof diverselandforms and life forms herehas arisenfrom the tight juxtaposition of a number of globally and locally significant eventsthrough a relatively short (150 Ma) geological period. We must be very careful to not destoy this great natural richness and, applyingthe wordsof Ian McHarg (1996p. 103)to this area, (originallyapplied to Straten "it Island,New York) is a [very] specialplace - its geologicalhistory hasmade it so".

PeterJ. Russell Perth,WA

September2004

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52