oon NORTH WEST CAPE 21°47'S LL4°10'E AUSTRALIA General North West Cape is part of the State of Western Australia in the Commonwealth of Australia. It is inthe northwest part of Western Australia, on the Indian Ocean at the termination of the peninsula forming the western shore of Exmouth Gulf (Map on next page). Physical Data The western half of Australia is an extensive plateau with large areas of sand and dunes. The western edge of this plateau is bordered by coastal lowlands, 60 to 70 miles wide. The peninsula is approximately 45 miles long and 10 miles wide and terminates at North West Cape. The Cape is an area of flat, low, sandy land about 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 miles, bordered by a ridge of sandhills 40 to 60 feet high extending southeast and southwest around the coast. Within the sandhills the land is low, flat, and partly covered with vegetation. Three miles to the southwest, the sandhills reach to Vlaming Head which is the northern extremity of a conspicuous range of hills that terminates on the coast. They extend 40 miles to the southwest with a rocky rugged outline 200 to 1,000 feet high. The slopes, covered with coarse grass and bushes, are steep to the west (seaward), and are gradual and blend with 60 to 90 foot sandy ridges to the east (gulf) side. The seacoast is all sandy. The entire shore of the cape is fringed with coral reef. There are some bays on the gulf with anchorages in the vicinity of Point Murat, 2.3 miles south of North West Cape and at Exmouth Gulf. Climate North West Cape is in the dry tropical coastal belt of true desert. The temperature varies 40° to 50° annually with a mean of about 78°F. The temper ature may exceed 100°F, about 40 days annually. The southeast monsoon season is May through September and the northwest monsoon season is September through April. In March of 1958, two tropical cyclones damaged Onslow. A record 125 mph gust was recorded. Annual precipitation is about 9-in. There is an average of 20 to 25 days of rain per year and an average of approximately 10 thunderstorms annually. Facilities The U. S. Navy's Very Low Frequency radio communication station is located at the extreme north end of North West Cape on Exmouth Gulf, a short distance from Vlaming Head. A Navy ship pier with 20-ft. depths alongside and lifting equipment is in use at this location. An airstrip for MAC use, limited housing, commissary privileges and other facilities are available for scientific groups at the new town of Exmouth where the VLF station is located. 53-1 VOL II April 1969