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Long-term landscape evolution on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory

Created 26/03/2026

Updated 26/03/2026

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Like other areas throughout the north of the Northern Territory, Groote Eylandt is dominated by a landscape of great age. Previous interpretations have argued that this landscape experienced repeated cycles of uplift and erosion during the Tertiary. This view is challenged by the evidence of two palaeovalleys which traverse the island ; both are filled with Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and are incised into a plateau surface of supposedly Miocene age. The Cretaceous marine transgression was the most important event in the long-term landscape history of Groote Eylandt. The resulting raised base-level, and the associated sedimentary infilling of valleys, lifted streams from their existing valleys, and promoted the development of a new stream network, which has persisted till the present. Apart from the obvious drainage alterations, no other significant modifications to the Groote Eylandt landscape have occurred since at least the late Mesozoic: an escarpment traversing the island has retreated less than 500 m since this time, and the upland plateau and surrounding lowland plains of pre-Cretaceous age have maintained their general form.

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Title Long-term landscape evolution on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/c33c57d7-e904-4063-86a1-8cd2c95c1669
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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        133.12,
        -16.46
      ],
      [
        138.16,
        -16.46
      ],
      [
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      ],
      [
        133.12,
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      ],
      [
        133.12,
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      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Data.gov.au