A Place Like No Other
At Horizontal Falls, the sea does something almost impossible.
Twice each day, enormous Kimberley tides surge through two narrow coastal gorges, forcing seawater sideways in roaring torrents powerful enough to stop boats in their tracks. Red cliffs glow against turquoise water. Humpback whales migrate through nearby seas. And beneath it all lives an ancient cultural story carried by the Dambimangari people for tens of thousands of years.
For the Dambimangari, this place was shaped by Woongud — the powerful spiritual serpent whose movement carved the coastline itself.
The Threat
But in 2010, this globally significant wilderness faced a new threat.
Mining company Pegasus Metals began exploring for copper, gold and zinc near the Falls. The proposed mining zone sat dangerously close to one of Australia’s most iconic natural wonders. Conservationists feared industrialisation would permanently scar the wilderness coastline and threaten the fragile marine ecosystems surrounding the Kimberley.
The Campaign
A powerful alliance quickly formed.
Tourism operators, Traditional Owners, conservation groups and local communities united against the proposal. the Wilderness Society helped mobilise public opposition, turning what might once have been seen as an isolated regional issue into a national campaign for protection.
The pressure worked.
In 2012, the WA Government established a 72-square-kilometre protection zone around Horizontal Falls, effectively banning mining in the immediate area. A year later, further protections followed with the announcement of a new marine park and national park protections surrounding the Falls.
At the same time, the Dambimangari people secured Native Title recognition over a vast stretch of Kimberley sea country that included Horizontal Falls itself.
Legacy
The fight for Horizontal Falls helped reshape how Australians saw the Kimberley — not as an industrial frontier, but as one of the planet’s last great intact tropical coastlines.
Today, attention has shifted toward protecting both visitor safety and Aboriginal cultural heritage, with tourism changing so future visitors will experience the Falls without boats travelling directly through the surging tidal channels.
“One of the greatest natural wonders of the world… Australia’s most unusual natural wonder.” — Sir David Attenborough