The entire beach (WA 771) faces west, but is protected by shore parallel calcarenite reefs, including the Bouvard Reefs. The reefs are drowned Pleistocene beach and dune systems. They lie up to 5 km offshore and shoal to less than 10 m lowering the higher outside waves to about 1 m at the shore. These waves combined with the medium sand to maintain a relatively steep reflective beach the length of the long beach. The beach is backed by near continuous blowouts and parabolic dunes systems averaging about 1 km wide along Myalup and Preston beaches, but widening to 2-3 km along Yalgorup and Cape Bouvard sections. The dunes are moderately active with numerous blowouts located along the Myalup and Preston beaches. The Holocene dunes in turn are backed by an inner Pleistocene barrier which it overlaps to the north. There are a total of three inner shore parallel Pleistocene systems each separated by a series of lakes and wetland including Lake Preston and Lake Clifton. The beach is accessible at Myalup, where there is a growing beachfront community and caravan park in the dune behind the beach and a large beachfront car park. The Preston Beach settlement, 20 km to the north, is located 500 m in from the beach and active dunes. It also has a large beachfront car park. The only other public road it the White Hill Road at Cape Bouvard, 22 km north of Preston Beach. This road leads to a 4 WD track to the beach, with other tracks leading to several houses located in the adjoining dune areas. Waves average about 1 m along the entire beach and usually surge up the steep reflective beach face. During higher wave conditions a heavy shore break develops and may from an attached bar. Rips and surf are usually absent. developed section of coast including the new Dawesville Channel and adjacent developments and the growing city of Mandurah. The first 6 km between the Thicket and the Dawesville Channel contains six beaches (WA 772-777), all but the first undergoing considerable development during the 1990’s and into the 2000’s. Tims Thicket is the name of a dense scrub area behind beaches WA 772 and 773. read more

Beach Length: 0.053km