Wharton Beach on the south coast of Western Australia is exposed to persistent long southerly swell from the Southern Ocean and with a micro-tide range maintains a rip-dominated surf zone popular with surfers. The beach is composed of pure white sand (99.5% silica), ultimately derived from the surrounding Proterozoic granite that dominates this section of coast and numerous offshore islands. This view from the southern granite headland, shows the typically crystal clear water and beach curving to the west as a transverse bar and rip system. A topographic rip flowing out against the headland is indicated by seaward migrating megaripples in the left foreground. A scarped foredune and vegetated transgressive dunes back the beach, with a granite tor on the centre horizon. The largely vegetated dunes in this area extend up to 10 km inland, driven by the strong southwest winds. The beach borders Cape Le Grande National Park that extends to the east toward the town of Esperance and contains some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Australia. This section of coast was first explored by the Dutch in 1627 and later the French in 1792 who both named many of the prominent coastal and island features, it was not settled by Europeans until the 1870s and while farming occupies the inland most of the coast remains in a natural state, much in national parks. Photograph taken October 2010 by Andrew D. Short, Coastal Studies Unit, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. andrew.short@sydney.edu.au