Everything about Shark Bay Western Australia totally explained
» See also - Shark Bay for other uses of the term
Shark Bay is a
world heritage site in the
Gascoyne region of
Western Australia. It is an area centred approximately on, over 800 kilometres north of
Perth, on the westernmost point of
Australia. An expedition led by
Dirk Hartog visited the area in
1616, becoming the second group of
Europeans known to have visited Australia. Shark Bay was named by
William Dampier, in
1699.
The area has a population of fewer than 1,000 people and a coastline of over 1,500 kilometres. The half dozen small communities making up this population occupy less than 1% of the total area.
Shark Bay World Heritage Site
The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated in the 1990's
Description
The bay itself covers an area of 10,000 km², with an average depth of 10 metres. It is divided by shallow banks and has many peninsulas and islands. The coastline is over 1,500 km long. It is located in the transition zone between three major climatic regions and between two major
botanical provinces.
Dirk Hartog Island is of major historic significance due to early explorers landing upon it.
Bernier and
Dorre islands in the north west corner of the Heritage area are locations of some last remaining habitats of some Australian mammals threatened with extinction.
Shark Bay is an area of major
zoological importance. It is home to about 10,000
dugongs (
sea cows), and there are many
dolphins, particularly at
Monkey Mia. The area supports 26
threatened Australian
mammal species, over 230 species of
bird, and nearly 150 species of
reptile. It is an important breeding and nursery ground for
fishes,
crustaceans, and
coelenterates. There are 323 fish species, with many
sharks and
rays.
Some
Bottlenose Dolphins in Shark Bay exhibit the only known case of tool use in marine mammals (outside of sea otters): they protect their beak with a
sponge while searching for food in the sandy sea bottom. Apparently, mothers teach their daughters how to do this.
Shark Bay has the largest known area of
seagrass, with seagrass meadows covering over 4000 km² of the bay. It includes the 1030 km²
Wooramel Seagrass Bank, the largest seagrass bank in the world. Shark Bay also contains the largest number of seagrass species ever recorded in one place; twelve species have been found, with up to nine occurring together in some places.
At
Hamelin Pool in the south of the bay, living microbes are building
stromatolites that are over 3000 years old. The Hamelin Pool contains the most diverse and abundant examples of stromatolite forms in the world.
Shark Bay was inscribed as a
World Heritage Site in
1991. The site covers an area of 23,000 square kilometres. It includes many protected areas and conservation reserves, including
Shark Bay Marine Park,
Francois Peron National Park,
Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve,
Zuytdorp Nature Reserve and numerous protected islands.
Denham and Useless Loop both fall within the boundary of the site but are specifically excluded from it. Shark Bay was the first to be classified on the Australian World Heritage list.
Interpretative Centre
A recent addition to facilities provided by the DEC around the world heritage area is a new Centre in Denham that provides interactive displays, and comprehensive information about the features of the region.
Bays of World Heritage area
Islands of World Heritage area
Bernier Island
Dirk Hartog Island
Faure Island
Peninsulas of the World Heritage area
Bellefin Prong
Heirisson Prong
Carrarang Peninsula
Peron Peninsula
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Shark Bay Western Australia'.
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