Your gateway to a wide range of natural resources information and associated maps

Victorian Resources Online

  1. Victorian Resources Online
    1. Catchment Management Regions
      1. Corangamite Region
        1. Landform
          1. Elevation
          2. Landscape Evolution
          3. Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance
          4. Geomorphology
          5. Geology
          6. Radiometrics Image
          7. Eruption Points of Newer Volcanic Province
          8. 3D Catchment Overview
          9. Land Systems
        2. Land Use
        3. Soil
        4. Land and Water Management
  2. Soil and Land Survey Directory
  3. VRO Sitemap
  4. VRO Feedback

23.4 Dinosaur Cove

This information has been developed from the publications:

  • 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 Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Shire of Otway (1984) by Neville Rosengren.
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 (external site) section of the Geological Society of Australia website for details of geological heritage reports, and a bibliography.

Location:23-088047. Two kilometres west of Glenaire.

Access:
Track off Great Ocean Road 1.8 km north of Glenaire then steep walking track to beach.

Ownership:
Crown land (Otway National Park).

Geology:
At the base of the cliff, the Lower Cretaceous sandstones have yielded several fragments of dinosaur bone. To date a number of bone scraps and a limb bone resembling that of Hypsilophodon have been recovered. The fossils are concentrated in what appears to be a small infilled stream channel in the Cretaceous rocks.

Significance:
International. This is one of the few dinosaur bone sites in Australia and was discovered only in 1980. It is the subject of ongoing research and is particularly suitable for research due to the concentrated nature of the fossil deposit. Further recovery and identification of bone remains will contribute substantially to an understanding of the nature of the evolution of Australian fauna from the Cretaceous onwards. The fragments identified so far suggest they are from dinosaurs that are known elsewhere in the world only from rocks 20 to 40 million years older.

 Higher level platform remnant (arrowed) west of Dinosaur Cove.

Cliff stack at Dinosaur Cove.

Reference:
Flannery, T.F. & Rich, T. (1982). "Dinosaur digging in Victoria." Aust. Nat. Hist. 20 (6): 195-198.
.

23.1-4
Sites 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 and 23.4
Page top

For information about DJPR please contact:

Phone: 136 186

National Relay Service: 133 677 or relayservice.gov.au

Email: customer.service@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Online: Contact us

Copyright

Privacy

Disclaimer

Accessibility
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions - Government of Victoria

© State of Victoria (Agriculture Victoria) 1996 - .

Creative Commons License

This work, Victorian Resources Online, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria (Agriculture Victoria) as author, indicate if changes were made and comply with the other licence terms.


The licence does not apply to ‘branding’ or some ‘images or photographs’ that may be owned by third parties. We ask you to seek prior approval to use images using the VRO feedback form. Access to higher quality images can also be provided on request.


This page was last updated on .