Maupertuis Bay (French: Baie Maupertuis) is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-west coastline of Kangaroo Island.[1]
Maupertuis Bay | |
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![]() ![]() Maupertuis Bay Location in South Australia | |
Location | Flinders Chase, South Australia[1] |
Coordinates | 35°59′46″S 136°39′36″E[1] |
Type | Bay |
Primary inflows | Rocky River |
Basin countries | Australia |
Max. length | 13 kilometres (8.1 mi)[2] |
Max. width | about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi)[2] |
Average depth | 30–60 metres (98–197 ft)[2] |
It faces to the south-west and extends for a distance of about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from an unnamed headland in the north-west to Cape du Couedic in the south-east.[2] Its coastline is located within the locality of Flinders Chase.[1]
Rivers draining into the bay includes the Rocky River which rises from within a catchment located in both the Flinders Chase National Park and the Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area.[3]
Maupertuis Bay was named after mathematician and philosopher Pierre Louis Maupertuis by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin.[4]
On 24 April 1899, the Scottish barque Loch Sloy was wrecked off the coast from Maupertuis Bay[5] resulting in the deaths of all but three of its 32 crew and passengers.
Since 2012, the waters of the bay have been located within a "habitat protection zone" with the Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park which is managed by the Government of South Australia.[6]
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Major townships |
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Beaches |
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Coastal features |
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Protected areas |
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Islands adjacent to Kangaroo Island coast | |||||||||
Related and uncategorised |
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Coastal bays and inlets of South Australia | |||
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West coast | |||
Spencer Gulf |
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Investigator Strait |
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Kangaroo Island south and west coasts | |||
Gulf St Vincent | |||
Backstairs Passage |
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South east coast | |||
Mainland |
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Australian places named by French explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries | ||
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South Australia |
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Western Australia |
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Only places with the name still in use in either the original or anglicised version are listed above. Many names have been anglicised; for these the original French name appears in brackets. |