Cape Borda is a headland in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located in the gazetted locality of Cape Borda on the north west tip of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southw ...

about west of the municipal seat of Kingscote. It was named after

Jean-Charles de Borda Jean-Charles, chevalier de Borda (4 May 1733 – 19 February 1799) was a French mathematician, physicist, and Navy officer. Biography Borda was born in the city of Dax to Jean‐Antoine de Borda and Jeanne‐Marie Thérèse de Lacroix. In 175 ...

(1733–1799), the French mathematician, physicist, naturalist and sailor, by the

Baudin expedition to Australia The Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1803 was a French expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia). Nicolas Baudin was selected as leader in October 1800. The expedition started with two ships, '' Géographe'', captained by Baudin, an ...

during January 1803. It has been the site of an operating lighthouse since 1858 and is currently located within the

Flinders Chase National Park Flinders Chase National Park (formerly Flinders Chase) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and west of the municipal ...

Description

Cape Borda is located in the gazetted locality of Cape Borda about west of Kingscote. It is the most north westerly point of the Kangaroo Island coast. It is the termination for a pair of coastlines – the western coastline extending from Cape du Couedic in the south and the northern coastline extending from Point Marsden in the east. It is described as ‘a bold cliffy headland, high’ with ‘the upper half of the cliff is formed of white limestone, and the lower half is very dark volcanic rock’ and that ‘the hills at the cape rise to a height of more than and are covered with small scrub.’

Formation, geology & oceanography

Cape Borda was formed when the sea reached its present level 7,500 years ago after sea levels started to rise at the start of the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

. The cliff line which includes Cape Borda consists of base strata of a metasandstone belonging to the Kanmantoo group bedrock such as Middleton Sandstone and Balquhidder Formation, overlaid by a relatively thick capping of Bridgewater Formation

calcarenite Calcarenite is a type of limestone that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, of detrital (transported) sand-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter), carbonate grains. The grains consist of sand-size grains of either corals, shells, o ...

rock. The water adjoining the cliff face at Cape Borda drops to depths ranging between to .

History

Aboriginal use

By 1999, the literature had not cited any archaeological discoveries specific to Aboriginal use of land in the immediate vicinity of Cape Borda.

European discovery

Cape Borda was named in January 1803 by the Baudin expedition of 1800-03 in the memory of Jean-Charles de Borda (1733–1799), the French mathematician, physicist, naturalist and sailor.

Navigation aid

The lighthouse at Cape Borda was the third of three provided for by legislation; the others being erected at Cape Willoughby and

Troubridge Shoals Troubridge Island is an island located in the south west corner of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia near the eastern edge of the Troubridge Shoals off the east coast of Yorke Peninsula about southeast by east of the town of Edithburgh It i ...

(now called

Troubridge Island Troubridge Island is an island located in the south west corner of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia near the eastern edge of the Troubridge Shoals off the east coast of Yorke Peninsula about southeast by east of the town of Edithburgh It i ...

). The light was officially lit on 13 July 1858 and was named the ‘Flinders Light’ in August 1858 in memory of

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland ...

Fauna

The coast near the Cape Borda lighthouse previously supported colonies of

little penguins The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian li ...

which are now believed to be extinct. Causes for local extinction are likely to include (but not be limited to)

predation Predation is a biological interaction In ecology, a biological interaction is the effect that a pair of organisms living together in a community have on each other. They can be either of the same species (intraspecific interactions), or o ...

by increasing

New Zealand fur seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New ...

populations and changes in prey availability.

Protected area status

Cape Borda is currently located within the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

known as the Flinders Chase National Park. As of 2012, the waters surrounding its shores are part of a sanctuary zone located within the boundaries of the

Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park __NOTOC__ Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park (formerly Western Kangaroo Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is a marine protected area located south of South Australia in waters within the Australian Exclusive economic zone to the south-west ...

Climate

References

External links

Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources official page for Cape Borda Lightstation
* {{AusplacesnamedbyFrench , state=collapsed Borda Investigator Strait