{{about|the headland in South Australia|the associated locality|Kangaroo Head, South Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2014}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = other | name = Kangaroo Head | state = SA | image = | caption = | pop = | pop_footnotes = | est = | postcode = | elevation = | elevation_footnotes = | coordinates = {{coord|35|43|6|S|137|54|13|E|display=inline,title}} | dist1 = | dir1 = | location1 = | lga = [[Kangaroo Island Council]] | stategov = | fedgov = | maxtemp = | mintemp = | rainfall = | near-e = | near-se = | near-s = | near-sw = | near-w = | near-nw = | near-n = | near-ne = }} '''Kangaroo Head''' is a headland in the [[Australia|Australian state]] of [[South Australia]] located at the north-west tip of [[Dudley Peninsula]] on [[Kangaroo Island]]. It was named by the British explorer, [[Matthew Flinders]], on 23 March 1802.
==Description== Kangaroo Head is the north-west tip of Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island and overlooks [[Nepean Bay]] to the west, [[Investigator Strait]] to the north and [[Backstairs Passage]] to the east. It is the termination for a pair of coastlines - one extending from [[Cape Willoughby]] in the east via Backstairs Passage and the other extending from Strawbridge Point in the south via Nepean Bay.<ref name=Chart12>{{Citation | author1=South Australia. Department of Marine and Harbors | title=The Waters of South Australia a series of charts, sailing notes and coastal photographs | publication-date=1985 | publisher=Dept. of Marine and Harbors, South Australia | pages= Chart 12|isbn=978-0-7243-7603-2 }}</ref> It is described as ‘a bluff, rocky point marked by a conspicuous white cairn’ where the land behind ‘rises steeply to heights of {{convert|91|m|ft|abbr=off}} to {{convert|122|m|ft|abbr=off}}’.<ref name=Pub175>{{cite enroute|175|2017|215}}</ref> Since 2002, it has been located within the gazetted locality of [[Kangaroo Head, South Australia|Kangaroo Head]].<ref name=PLB>{{cite web |title=Search result for "Kangaroo Head (Locality Bounded)" (Record no SA0058060) with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities" and "Place names (gazetteer)" |url=http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/# |publisher=[[Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure]] |access-date=2 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012010923/http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/ |archive-date=12 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Formation, geology & oceanography == Kangaroo Head was formed when the sea reached its present level 7,500 years ago after sea levels started to rise at the start of the [[Holocene]].<ref name=BSKIpage26>{{cite book|title=A Biological Survey of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 1989 & 1990|publisher=Heritage and Biodiversity Section, Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia|location=Adelaide, SA|isbn=0 7308 5862 6 |pages=26|url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/fb13b9bf-5c8e-445c-9c3c-a1c600c14815/ki-biological-survey-climate-geology-landuse-gen.pdf|editor=Robinson, A. C. |editor2=Armstrong, D. M.|access-date=1 May 2014}}</ref> The cliff line which includes Kangaroo Head consists of a grey metasandstone belonging to the [[Kanmantoo group]] bedrock known as the Tananappa Formation.<ref name=MESA47page28>{{cite journal|last=Fairclough |first=Martin C |title=KINGSCOTE Special 1:250 000 geological map |journal=MESA Journal |volume=47 |pages=28–31 |publisher=Government of South Australia, DMITRE |date=December 2007 |url=http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/71034/MJ47_kingscote_map.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527064406/http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/71034/MJ47_kingscote_map.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=2016-05-27 |issn=1326-3544 |access-date=18 May 2014 }}</ref> The water adjoining Kangaroo Head drops to a depth of {{convert|13|m|abbr=off}} at the base of its cliff face.<ref name=Chart13>{{Citation | author1=South Australia. Department of Marine and Harbors | title=The Waters of South Australia a series of charts, sailing notes and coastal photographs | publication-date=1985 | publisher=Dept. of Marine and Harbors, South Australia | pages= Chart 13|isbn=978-0-7243-7603-2 }}</ref>
==History==
===Aboriginal use=== As of 1999, the literature had not cited any archaeological discoveries specific to [[Australian Aboriginal|Aboriginal]] use of land in the immediate vicinity of Kangaroo Head.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Biological Survey of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 1989 & 1990|publisher=Heritage and Biodiversity Section, Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia|location=Adelaide, SA|isbn=0 7308 5862 6|pages=34–35|url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/fb13b9bf-5c8e-445c-9c3c-a1c600c14815/ki-biological-survey-climate-geology-landuse-gen.pdf|editor=Robinson, A. C. |editor2=Armstrong, D. M.|access-date=1 May 2014}}</ref>
===European discovery=== Kangaroo Head was discovered and named by Matthew Flinders on 23 March 1802. This place was where Flinders first sighted [[Mount Lofty]], the tallest peak in the [[Mount Lofty Ranges]].<ref name=Flinders>{{cite Q |Q133875246 |mode=cs1 |last=Flinders |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Flinders |orig-year=1814 |pages=251–252 }}</ref>
==Economic activity== As of 2014, the land adjoining Kangaroo Head is used for [[Agriculture|farming]]. Farming activity at the locality had been underway prior to 1945 when most of the land had been reported as being cleared of native vegetation.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Biological Survey of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 1989 & 1990|publisher=Heritage and Biodiversity Section, Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia|location=Adelaide, SA|isbn=0 7308 5862 6|pages=52|url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/fb13b9bf-5c8e-445c-9c3c-a1c600c14815/ki-biological-survey-climate-geology-landuse-gen.pdf|editor=Robinson, A. C. |editor2=Armstrong, D. M.|access-date=1 May 2014}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Kangaroo (disambiguation)]]
==References== {{Reflist |30em}}
{{Kangaroo Island}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kangaroo Head}} [[Category:Headlands of Kangaroo Island]] [[Category:Dudley Peninsula]] [[Category:Backstairs Passage]]
{{SouthAustralia-geo-stub}}