Western Cape York Peninsula Region

Abstract

The 1000 km long western coast of Cape York Peninsula faces into the Gulf of Carpentaria with several moderate-sized rivers draining the low Peninsula to deposit sandy deltas. The climate is tropical monsoonal with the trades predominately flowing offshore and only the summer monsoons and occasional tropical cyclone delivering higher energy conditions. The coast trends relatively straight to the north and grades from tidal flats, cheniers and mangroves in the low gradient low energy south to longer sandy beaches backed by regressive beach-foredune ridges, and elongate recurved spits at the river mouths, together with low laterite bluffs increasing in prominence to the north. Tides are meso, and the beaches are a mix of tide-modified and tide-dominated with sediment predominately quartz with ~20% carbonate. This chapter described the coastal processes, sediment, beaches, barriers and sediment transport and compartments.