The widest indentation in the Australian coastline, the Great Australian Bight extends from Cape Carnot in South Australia to Cape Pasley in Western Australia.

The shores of the bight consist of long expanses of unbroken cliffs and it represents an abrupt end to the Nullarbor Plain.

The seas of the area were first crossed by Peter Nuyts, a Dutch explorer, in 1627. However, most of the coast was not charted in detail until Matthew Flinders sailed along it in 1801-02.