View source for Limestone Coast

{{Other uses|Limestone Coast  (disambiguation){{!}}Limestone Coast }}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                = region
| name                = Limestone Coast
| state               = sa
| image               = Blue Lake, Mount Gambier.jpg
| caption             = Blue Lake, Mount Gambier
| pop                 = 64,585
| pop_year = 2006 [[Australian Bureau of Statistics|ABS]] data
| pop_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|title=Age-Sex Population Projections by South Australian Government Region, 2006-2026|url=http://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/excel_doc/0019/18820/South_Australian_Government_Regions_Projections_2006_2026.xls|publisher=SA Government, Department of Planning and Local Government|access-date=2 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216095512/http://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/excel_doc/0019/18820/South_Australian_Government_Regions_Projections_2006_2026.xls|archive-date=16 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| coordinates         = {{coord|37|S|140|E|display=inline,title}}
| established              = 
| established_footnotes    = 
| area                = 
| area_footnotes           = 
| timezone                 = 
| utc                      = 
| timezone-dst             = 
| utc-dst                  = 
| lga                 =  [[City of Mount Gambier]]<br/> [[District Council of Grant]]<br/>[[District Council of Robe]]<br/> [[Kingston District Council]]<br/> [[Naracoorte Lucindale Council]]<br/> [[Tatiara District Council]]<br/> [[Wattle Range Council]]
| stategov = [[Electoral district of MacKillop|MacKillop]]
| stategov2= [[Electoral district of Mount Gambier|Mount Gambier]]
| fedgov   = [[Division of Barker|Barker]]
| near-n                   = 
| near-ne                  = 
| near-e                   = 
| near-se                  = 
| near-s                   = 
| near-sw                  = 
| near-w                   = 
| near-nw                  = 
| near                     = 
| footnotes                = 
}}

[[Image:Vines near Naracoorte2.jpg|thumb|250px|right|View across the plains near Naracoorte from Russet Ridge Winery]]
[[File:Aerial views of the Mount Gambier region of South Australia.webm|thumb|Aerial views of the Limestone Coast region of South Australia.]]

The '''Limestone Coast''' is a name used since the early 21st century for a [[Regions of South Australia#South Australian Government regions|South Australian government region]]  located in the south east of [[South Australia]] which immediately adjoins the continental coastline and the [[Victoria (Australia)|Victorian]] border. The name is also used for a [[tourist region]] and a [[List of wine-producing regions|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 [[District Council of Grant|Grant]], [[Kingston District Council|Kingston]], [[District Council of Robe|Robe]], [[Tatiara District Council|Tatiara]] and [[Naracoorte Lucindale Council|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 (Australia)|Victoria]] in the east and  the northern boundary of the Kingston District Council in the north-west.<ref>{{cite web|title=Limestone Coast, South Australian Government Region|url=http://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/8589/Limestone_Coast_SA_Government_region.pdf|publisher=The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref><ref name=LMV>{{cite web|title= Search results for "Mount Gambier, GTWN" with the following datasets selected – "Local Government Areas", "SA Government Regions" and "Gazetteer" |url=http://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=hybrid&x=141.51083&y=-37.1377&z=8&uids=11,20,105&pinx=140.764810&piny=-37.833630&pinTitle=Location&pinText=Mount+Gambier,+Gtwnn |website=Location SA Map Viewer |publisher= South Australian Government |access-date=19 October 2019 }}</ref>

===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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tourism Regions, South Australia 2013 |url=http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/C4E26F8E21517DF5CA257BD00015A878/$File/9503055001_south_australia_tourism_regions_(map_only).pdf |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=7 February 2016 |date=2013}}</ref>

====Limestone Coast Wine Zone====
{{further|Limestone Coast zone (wine)}}
The words 'Limestone Coast' also used in the name of a [[Growing region|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]].<ref name=regions>{{cite web|title=Wine Regions|url=http://www.wineaustralia.net.au/en/wine-regions.aspx|publisher=Wine Australia Corporation|access-date=1 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006165230/http://www.wineaustralia.net.au/en/wine-regions.aspx|archive-date=6 October 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>  The zone includes the following [[wine]]-growing regions: [[Coonawarra wine region|Coonawarra]], [[Mount Benson wine region|Mount Benson]], [[Mount Gambier wine region|Mount Gambier]], [[Padthaway wine region|Padthaway]], [[Robe wine region|Robe]] and [[Wrattonbully]].

==Location and description==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2014}}
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]], [[viticulture]], [[forestry]] and [[tourism]]. Towns include [[Bordertown, South Australia|Bordertown]], [[Keith, South Australia|Keith]], [[Millicent, South Australia|Millicent]], [[Mount Gambier, South Australia|Mount Gambier]], [[Penola, South Australia|Penola]], and [[Naracoorte, South Australia|Naracoorte]] and the coastal resorts of [[Beachport, South Australia|Beachport]], [[Kingston SE, South Australia|Kingston SE]] and [[Robe, South Australia|Robe]].

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&ndash;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&nbsp;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 National Park|Coorong]] and [[Bool Lagoon]]. Meanwhile, areas of upland in the Limestone Coast include the volcanic [[maar|crater]]s of [[Mount Gambier (volcano)|Mount Gambier]].

The [[Mediterranean climate]] of this coast is cool and moist with wet winters.

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2014}}
There are deep limestone deposits created from the coral and other sealife. The limestone in Victoria Fossil Cave and the other [[Naracoorte Caves National Park|Naracoorte Caves]] contains are Australia's biggest source of fossils and a [[World Heritage Site]].

==Ecology==
{{main|Naracoorte woodlands}}

===Flora===
The natural vegetation was woodland of [[River Red gum]] and other [[eucalyptus]] trees.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|id=aa1208|name=Naracoorte woodlands}}</ref>

===Fauna===
Although there are few purely endemic species the coast is rich in wildlife including [[Phalangeriformes|possums]], ''[[Cercartetus]]'' [[pygmy possum]]s, ''[[Petaurus]]'' [[Gliding possum]]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 [[Rhaphidophoridae|cave cricket]]. 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]], [[grey teal]], [[Pacific black duck]], and especially the [[Critically Endangered|critically endangered]] [[orange-bellied parrot]] ''(Neophema chrysogaster)'' which winters here along with many other birds including the [[red-necked stint]] (''Calidris ruficollis''), [[sharp-tailed sandpiper]] (''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.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|id=aa1208|name=Naracoorte woodlands}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Regions of South Australia]]
*[[South Australian Forestry Corporation]]
*[[Kanawinka Geopark]]

==External links==
{{commonscat|Limestone Coast}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.limestonecoast.com/ Regional website - local weather, street maps, events etc]* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061004183828/http://www.thelimestonecoast.com/ Official tourist website]
* [http://www.southaustralia.com/LimestoneCoast.aspx SouthAustralia.com Limestone Coast - travel guides, accommodation, online booking]
* [http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_park/Browse_by_region/Limestone_Coast Limestone Coast - National Parks]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Limestone Coast}}
{{South Australia}}

[[Category:Limestone Coast| ]]
[[Category:Coastline of South Australia]]
[[Category:Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub in Australia]]
[[Category:Naracoorte woodlands]]
[[Category:Regions of South Australia]]