Burleigh Heads is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Burleigh Heads had a population of 10,077 people. Geography Burleigh Head is a cape () jutting into the Coral Sea at the northern mouth of Tallebudgera Creek. Rising to a height of , Burleigh Head is a prominent local landmark. Burleigh Beach facing the Coral Sea commences at Burleigh Head and extends north (). The suburb has two distinct parts. The north-eastern part of the suburb is a narrow coastal area bounded to the north-east by the Coral Sea and includes Burleigh Head. The south-western part then extends inland along Tallebudgera Creek. The centre of the Burleigh beach area is James Street (), which consists of cafes, delis, hairdressers, retailers, chemists, restaurants and charity stores. Koala Park is a neighbourhood in the north-east of the suburb (). It is a residential area alongside Tallebudgera Creek that is surrounded by bushland consisting of Burleigh Head National Park, Burleigh Ridge Park, Ocean Parade Bush Reserve and Tallebudgera Creek Conservation Park. West Burleigh is a neighbourhood (a former township) in the south-west of the suburb (). It has shopping and industrial areas. Geology The area of Burleigh Head was formed between 20 and 23 million years ago from molten lava due to numerous eruptions of Mount Warning. Flowing lava reached the shore in the area to form Burleigh headland and Point Danger. Geological processes that shaped the region resulted in a variety of different rock types, influencing the landscape, vegetation types and the animals they sustained. Queensland University geologists and students began coming to the area to collect specimens in the 1920s. Ecology Burleigh Headland is part of a wildlife corridor connecting coastal forests south to the Queensland New South Wales border ranges. Burleigh Ridge Park Reserve has a diverse habitat due to its geology. Conservation of the area has preserved many local plants that indigenous people would have used over 200 years ago. There are Eucalypt forest species favoured by Koalas. Other native wildlife include flying foxes, gliders and over 60 bird species. History Indigenous Australians inhabited the area of Burleigh Heads for thousands of years prior to European settlement. The Indigenous tribe were known as the Kombumerri clan, who had named the area 'Jellurgal'. In 1840, James Warner was commissioned to survey the coastline near Moreton Bay. Warner named the headland Burly Head because of