geo.wikisort.org - IslandThe Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about 260 km (160 mi) west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centered on 17°20′S 119°20′E, on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll covers an area of around 80 to 90 km2 (31 to 35 sq mi) within the rim of the reef, including the lagoons, while the land areas are negligible. They belong to Western Australia. They all rise steeply from the surrounding ocean floor. To the northeast lie the Scott and Seringapatam Reefs which are located on the same undersea platform.
Coral reefs off the coast of Western Australia
Rowley Shoals |
 The Rowley Shoals are off the northwest coast of Australia. |
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Location | Indian Ocean |
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Coordinates | 17°20′S 119°20′E |
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Australia |
State | Western Australia |
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Shoals | Rowley Shoals |
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Population | 0 |
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Time zone | |
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Naming and history
The Rowley Shoals were so named by Captain Phillip Parker King in 1818 in honour of Captain Rowley who first sighted the Imperieuse Reef in 1800.[1] It is believed that the Rowley Shoals reefs have been visited by fishermen from Indonesia, from at least the mid-18th century.[citation needed] The fishermen were also collecting or hunting for Trepang (holothurians or sea cucumbers), turtle shell, trochus shell and shark fin.
These early visitors apparently knew the Rowley Shoals as Pulau Pulo Dhaoh. In later years, fishermen from Roti Island, south of Timor, also visited the Rowley Shoals, which they knew as Pulau Bawa Angin. The individual reefs were also given names, Mermaid Reef being called Pulau Manjariti, Clerke Reef was Pulau Tengah and Imperieuse Reef was Pulau Matsohor.[citation needed]
Description
- Mermaid Reef, the northeastern one of the three reefs at 17°06′S 119°37′E, is an atoll with a large lagoon enclosed by a rim of coral, which falls dry. There are many drying patches in the lagoon. On the northeast side of the reef, there is a passage, about 60 m wide, leading into the lagoon. Mermaid Reef rises steeply from the surrounding ocean floor, which is 440 m deep. The atoll was named in 1818 by Captain Philip Parker King, who discovered the reef and named it after his ship HMS Mermaid.
- Clerke Reef (also called Minstrel Shoal), at 17°19′S 119°21′E, lies about 23 km southwest of Mermaid Reef. The reef has a length of about 15 km north-south, and a width of about 6 km. Near the northern end of the reef lies Bedwell Islet, a bare sand cay about 2 m high. On the eastern and western sides of the reef there are a number of boulders which fall dry. A narrow passage leads to a lagoon, with many detached coral patches within the reef. Clerke Reef rises steeply from the surrounding ocean floor, which is 390 m deep. It was also named by Captain Philip Parker King, after Captain Clerke, who had reported it from a whaler between 1800 and 1809.
- Imperieuse Reef, at 17°35′S 118°55′E, lies about 35 km southwest of Clerke Reef and is the southwesternmost of Rowley Shoals. It is about 16 km in length north-south and has a width of about 8 km. On the southeastern edge of the reef there are numerous coral boulders, which rise about 3 m above the water mark. Large areas of the reef fall dry at low water and there are two lagoons, which each contain many coral patches within. Cunningham Islet, a small sand cay 3.7 m high and devoid of vegetation, is located close within the northern extremity of the reef, and is surrounded by a small lagoon, 93 m wide. The islet is the location of a lighthouse, Imperieuse Reef Light. Imperieuse Reef rises steeply from the surrounding ocean floor, which is 230 m deep. The reef was named by Captain Phillip Parker King after the ship (HMS Imperieuse) from which it was sighted by Captain Rowley in 1800.
Conservation
Mermaid Reef is listed on Australia's Commonwealth Heritage List and all three reefs of the Rowley Shoals were registered on the former Register of the National Estate. The Shoals are the only known origin and home of several unusual species, including the Western Australian sculpin, and so are of major ecological value.
- The Rowley Shoals Marine Park covers the Clerke and Imperieuse Reefs. Declared in 1990 and extended in 2004, the marine park is managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) of Western Australia.
- The Mermaid Reef Marine Park protects the northeastern Mermaid Reef, it is an Australian marine park managed by Parks Australia.
- The Argo-Rowley Terrace Marine Park is adjacent to, and encompasses the Mermaid Reef and Rowley Shoals marine parks.
Tourism
Since about 1977 charter boats based from Broome began operating deep sea fishing and diving expeditions to the reefs and seas around. Since this time interest in the area has grown considerably and the Rowley Shoals has achieved a reputation for offering some of the best diving in Australia.
References
Further reading
- Berry, P.F. Ed. (1986) Faunal surveys of the Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef, and Seringapatam Reef, North-western Australia Perth, W.A. : Western Australian Museum, Records of the Western Australian Museum. Supplement, 0313-122X ; no. 25. ISBN 0-7309-0340-0
External links
Protected areas managed by the Australian Government |
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Botanical gardens & national parks | Botanical gardens |
- Australian National Botanic Gardens
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National parks | |
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Australian marine parks | South-west Marine Park Network | |
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North-west Marine Park Network |
- Carnarvon Canyon
- Shark Bay
- Gascoyne
- Ningaloo
- Montebello
- Dampier
- Rowley Shoals
- Eighty Mile Beach
- Argo-Rowley Terrace
- Mermaid Reef
- Roebuck
- Kimberley
- Ashmore Reef
- Cartier Island
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North Marine Park Network |
- Oceanic Shoals
- Joseph Bonaparte Gulf
- Arafura
- Arnhem
- Wessel
- Limmen
- Gulf of Carpentaria
- West Cape York
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Coral Sea Marine Park | |
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Temperate East Marine Park Network |
- Jervis
- Hunter
- Cod Grounds
- Solitary Islands
- Central Eastern
- Gifford
- Lord Howe
- Norfolk
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South-east Marine Parks Network |
- Apollo
- Beagle
- Boags
- East Gippsland
- Flinders
- Franklin
- Freycinet
- Huon
- Macquarie Island
- Murray
- Nelson
- South Tasman Rise
- Tasman Fracture
- Zeehan
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Commonwealth Marine Reserves |
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands Commonwealth Marine Reserve
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Marine parks |
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
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Antarctic Specially Protected Areas |
- Amanda Bay
- Ardery Island and Odbert Island
- Clark Peninsula
- Frazier Islands
- Hawker Island
- Marine Plain
- Mawson's Huts
- North-eastern Bailey Peninsula
- Rookery Islands
- Scullin and Murray Monoliths
- Stornes
- Taylor Rookery
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Reserves held in trust | |
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Managing authorities |
- Director of National Parks (Parks Australia)
- Australian Antarctic Division
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
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Related topics |
- Protected areas of Australia
- Biosphere reserves in Australia
- A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia
- Indigenous Protected Area
- National Reserve System
- Ramsar sites in Australia
- World Heritage Sites in Oceania
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Authority control  |
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General | |
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National libraries | |
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На других языках
[de] Rowley Shoals
Rowley Shoals (= "Untiefen") ist eine Gruppe von drei aus dem Wasser ragenden, atollähnlichen Korallenriffen vor der australischen Nordwestküste, etwa 260 Kilometer westlich von Broome.
- [en] Rowley Shoals
[ru] Роули (рифы)
Рифы Роули (англ. Rowley Shoals) — группа из трёх коралловых рифов к югу от Тиморского моря примерно в 260 км к западу от порта Брум, расположенного в северо-западной части Австралии. К северо-востоку расположены рифы Скотт и Серингапатам.
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