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196. Smith Beach - Quartzite

This information has been developed from one or more of these publications:

  • Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Westernport Bay Catchment (1984) by Neville Rosengren.
  • Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Western Region of Melbourne (1986) by Neville Rosengren
  • Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance on the Coast of Port Phillip Bay (1988) by Neville Rosengren.
  • Sites of Environmental Significance in the Flood Plain of the Upper Yarra Valley Region (1983) by Neville Rosengren, Douglas Frood and Kim Lowe (as part of a study of Sites of Environmental Significance by the University of Melbourne for the then Upper Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Authority).
Geological heritage sites, including sites of geomorphological interest and volcanic heritage sites, are under regular revision by the Geological Society of Australia, especially in the assessment of significance and values. Reference should be made to the most recent reports. See the Earth Science Heritage section of the Geological Society of Australia website (external link) for details of geological heritage reports, and a bibliography.


Location:
Woolamai – 478367. 500 m east of the car park at Smith Point.
Image: Sites of Significance Westernport Bay
Inter-basaltic quartz (a) and radial fracture
pattern in basalt platform (arrowed),
Site 196

Access:
Smith Beach Road.

Ownership:
Crown land.

Geology/Geomorphology:
An irregular ridge of tough, yellow-white strongly indurated quartzite protrudes from the basalt shore platform near the headland 500 m east of Smith Beach. The outcrop is 2.5 m high and extends for 10 m but the base of the material and its contact with the basalt is covered by water at most stages of the tide. Edwards (1945) described the outcrop as an inter-basaltic gravel deposited on a north sloping valley side and covered by a later basalt flow. The basalt shore platform adjacent to the outcrop has a large domed structure with a radial fracture pattern resembling a lava blister or small tumulus.

Significance:
State. This quartzite ridge is a most unusual structure and no equivalent feature is known on the Victorian Coast.

Management:
Class 1. Removal or quarrying of the block of quartzite should be prohibited and no coastal engineering or harbour works should be permitted on the area of the site.


Sites 195 to 197
Inter-basaltic quartz (a) and radial fracture
pattern in basalt platform (arrowed),
Site 196


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