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169. San Remo Back Beach - Older Volcanics/Cliffs

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:
Rhyll – 578338. Coastal cliffs and platforms south from Back Beach Road at San Remo.
Image: Sites of Significance Westernport Bay
 Inclined jointed basalt columns Back Beach, Sand Remo, Site 169

Access:
Back Beach Road.

Ownership:
Crown land.

Geology/Geomorphology:
The cliff below the car park at the end of Back Beach Road is of columnar jointed basalt, part of a lava flow which has infilled a former valley in the Mesozoic sediments. The small creek and embayment immediately to the south are eroded along the contact between the base of the basalt and the underlying Mesozoic sediments. In the lower part of the cliff, the joint blocks dip less steeply and have the appearance of a ‘post pile’. Mesozoic sediments, including conspicuous beds of conglomerate containing pebbles of Cape Woolamai granite, are exposed in the cliffs and shore platforms towards Griffiths Point.

Significance:
Regional. The site is a clear example of the nature and physiographic effect of the lava flows of the Older Volcanics. The conglomerate beds exposed in the shore platform differ from those included in the Mesozoic rocks elsewhere in the study area.

Management:
Class 1. Any extension to the road and car park at the Back Beach Road must be planned to avoid modifying the cliffs and shore platforms. Fill or rock rubble generated during any such works should not be allowed to obscure the cliff sections.

References:
O’Brien, P.E. (1976). The Mesozoic fluviatile sediments of the San Remo Peninsula. B.Sc.Hons. thesis, (unpub.) Dept. of Geol. Univ. of Melb.

Image: Sites of Significance Westernport Bay
Mesozoic conglomerate derived from
Woolamai Granite, South of San Remo,
Site 169.
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