Tamala Limestone

The rock consists of calcarenite wind-blown shell fragments and quartz sand which accumulated as coastal sand dunes during the middle and late Pleistocene and early Holocene eras.

As a result of a process of sedimentation and water percolating through the shelly sands, the mixture later lithified when the lime content dissolved to cement the grains together.

At its thickest, the Tamala Limestone comprises the massive Zuytdorp Cliffs, up to 250 m high, extending for 150 km between Kalbarri, Western Australia and south of Steep Point.

Because of its ready availability, Tamala Limestone is used extensively for landscaping and building in Western Australia and particularly for the main population centre of Perth.

It has a creamier colour and is slightly denser than Moore River limestone which comes from the area around Guilderton and which is darker and more textured.