The Limestone Coast is a name used since the early 21st century for a South Australian government region located in the south east of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

which immediately adjoins the continental coastline and the Victorian border. The name is also used for a tourist region and a wine zone both located in the same part of South Australia.

Extent

The Limestone Coast is a South Australian Government Region which consists of land within the following local government areas located in the south east of the state: the City of Mount Gambier and the District Councils of Grant,

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoil ...

, Tatiara and Naracoorte Lucindale and the Wattle Range Council, and the extent of "coastal waters" up to three nautical miles seaward of the low water mark between the border with Victoria in the east and the northern boundary of the Kingston District Council in the north-west.

Industry regions with the same name

Limestone Coast Tourism Region

The words 'Limestone Coast' also used in the name of a tourism region which occupies a similar part of South Australia. The tourism region consists of the following local government areas: the City of Mount Gambier, The Coorong District Council, the District Councils of Grant, Kingston, Robe, Tatiara and Naracoorte Lucindale, and the Wattle Range Council.

Limestone Coast Wine Zone

The words 'Limestone Coast' also used in the name of a wine zone which occupies a similar part of South Australia. The wine zone is the land south of a line located at appropriately 36 degrees 50 minutes south, i.e. in line with Cape Willoughby at the east end of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

. The zone includes the following

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

-growing regions: Coonawarra, Mount Benson,

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

, Padthaway,

and Wrattonbully.

Location and description

From the Victoria border to the Younghusband Peninsula this area has been settled since colonisation by mainly European settlers in the 1840s, displacing an indigenous population that had resided in the region for thousands of years. The region currently supports

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Towns include Bordertown, Keith, Millicent,

, Penola, and Naracoorte and the coastal resorts of Beachport, Kingston SE and

. Much of the Limestone Coast is low-lying, and was inundated by sea as recently as 2 million years ago. It had previously also been flooded 15–20 million years ago. The plains are lined by rows of low sandhills parallel to the coast, created at times when the coastline was at that level. Prior to European settlement, much of the land between the sandhills was swamp fed by streams and subject to inundation. A network of drains totalling 1450 km has been constructed to channel the water away through the sandhills to the ocean. Important areas of wetland remain including the lakes and lagoons such as the southern end of the Coorong and Bool Lagoon. Meanwhile, areas of upland in the Limestone Coast include the volcanic

crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...

s of

. The

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

of this coast is cool and moist with wet winters.

History

There are deep limestone deposits created from the coral and other sealife. The limestone in Victoria Fossil Cave and the other Naracoorte Caves contains are Australia's biggest source of fossils and a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Ecology

Flora

The natural vegetation was woodland of River Red gum and other

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

trees.

Fauna

Although there are few purely endemic species the coast is rich in wildlife including

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum, ...

, ''

Cercartetus The genus ''Cercartetus'' is a group of very small possums known as pygmy possums. Four species comprise this genus, which together with the genus '' Burramys'' make up the marsupial family Burramyidae. It has occasionally been presumed that ...

'' pygmy possums, '' Petaurus''

Gliding possum There are many different types of gliding possum, sometimes referred to as :wikt:volplane, volplane possum, flying phalangers, or simply as gliders, endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Taxonomically, gliding possums occupy three genera. ''Acrobate ...

s, and other marsupials many of which do not spread further west than here. Endemic species include reptiles such as the striped legless lizard ''(Delma impar)'' and invertebrates like an endemic

cave cricket The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include cave crickets, camel crickets, spider crickets (sometimes shortened to "criders" or "sprickets"), and sand trea ...

. The Naracoorte caves are occupied by the common bent-wing bat. The lakes and lagoons are particularly important habitats for waterbirds such as

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

, grey teal,

Pacific black duck The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...

, and especially the

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

orange-bellied parrot ''(Neophema chrysogaster)'' which winters here along with many other birds including the

red-necked stint The red-necked stint (''Calidris ruficollis'') is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ruficollis'' is from La ...

(''Calidris ruficollis''),

sharp-tailed sandpiper The sharp-tailed sandpiper (''Calidris acuminata'') is a small-medium migratory wader or shorebird, found mostly in Siberia during the summer breeding period (June to August) and Australia for wintering (September to March). Taxonomy The gen ...

(''Calidris acuminata''), and curlew sandpiper (''Calidris ferruginea''). Most of the original habitat has been cleared for agriculture and only fragments remain (particularly in areas of wetland) with Coorong National Park and Canunda National Park being the largest areas. Therefore, most indigenous wildlife has also disappeared or been severely reduced in number with introduced species of animals an ongoing threat to that which remains.

External links

Regional website - local weather, street maps, events etcOfficial tourist website

SouthAustralia.com Limestone Coast - travel guides, accommodation, online booking

Limestone Coast - National Parks

References

{{South Australia Coastline of South Australia Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub in Australia Naracoorte woodlands Regions of South Australia