Bathurst Channel | |
---|---|
Location on the south west coast of Tasmania | |
Location | South Western Tasmania |
Coordinates | 43°20′24″S146°01′12″E / 43.34000°S 146.02000°E |
Type | Channel |
Etymology | 3rd Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies |
Part of | Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve |
Primary inflows | Bathurst Harbour |
Primary outflows | Port Davey |
Basin countries | Australia |
References | [1] |
The Bathurst Channel is a narrow offshore stretch of water that links Port Davey with Bathurst Harbour in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia. [2] [3] [4] The Bathurst Channel is contained within the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve, [5] and the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The channel has been studied for estuarine and introduced marine species. [6] [7] [8]
The channel's water is stained red and provides a low light; this allows deeper-water creatures to live in the shallow water. The water is pitch black 6 metres (20 ft) below the surface. The channel attracts researchers and divers because they can observe deep underwater life without travelling thousands of feet with expensive equipment.[ citation needed ]
Protected areas of Tasmania consist of protected areas located within Tasmania and its immediate onshore waters, including Macquarie Island. It includes areas of crown land managed by Tasmanian Government agencies as well as private reserves. As of 2016, 52% of Tasmania's land area has some form of reservation classification, the majority is managed by the Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. Marine protected areas cover about 7.9% of state waters.
Southwest National Park is an Australian national park located in the south-west of Tasmania, bounded by the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to the north and the Hartz Mountains National Park to the east. It is a part of a chain of national parks and state reserves that make up the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Covering an area of 6,183 km2 (2,387 sq mi), it is Tasmania's largest national park.
Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately 315 square kilometres (122 sq mi), and has an average depth of 15 metres (49 ft), with deeper places up to 50 metres (160 ft). It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by the presence of a rock wall on the outside of the channel's curve. This man-made wall prevents erosion and keeps the channel deep and narrow, rather than allowing the channel to become wide and shallow. A reported Aboriginal name for the harbour is Parralaongatek.
The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour, in the former colony of Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed male convicts, with a small number of women housed on a nearby island. During its 11 years of operation, the penal colony achieved a reputation as one of the harshest penal settlements in the Australian colonies. The formal penal station is located on the eight-hectare (twenty-acre) Sarah Island that now operates as a historic site under the direction of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
The South West Wilderness of Tasmania, Australia is a remote and inaccessible region of South West Tasmania containing unspoilt scenery, rugged peaks, wild rivers, unique flora and fauna, and a long and rugged coastline. Parts of the wilderness are more than 50 km from the nearest road, so the only access to the area is by foot, air or sea.
The Breaksea Islands Group is a group of six islands, in the Southern Ocean, off the southwestern coast of Tasmania, Australia.
Kathleen Island is a steeply cliffed island that lies within Port Davey, an oceanic inlet, located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. The island has an area of approximately 11.35 hectares and is contained with the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site and the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve.
South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evoked curiosity as to its resources over the duration of European presence on the island.
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is the government body responsible for protected areas of Tasmania on public land, such as national parks, historic sites and regional reserves. Historically it has also had responsibility for managing wildlife, including game.
Bathurst Harbour is a shallow bay located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. Bathurst Harbour is contained within the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve, and the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Port Davey is an oceanic inlet located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Maugean skate or Port Davey skate is an endangered species of fish in the family Rajidae. It is endemic to Tasmania, only found in the brackish estuarine waters of Macquarie Harbour and Bathurst Harbour. The species was discovered in 1988 by Dr Graham Edgar. It was named in honour of René Maugé, zoologist on the Baudin expedition to Australia, who died in Tasmania in 1802.
The Davey River is a perennial river located in the south-west region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Low Rocky Point is a location on the south west coast of Tasmania and Australia, that is used as a location for weather forecasting. It is almost due west of Hobart, it is south of Point Hibbs and north of South West Cape.
The Big Caroline Rock is an unpopulated island located close to the south-western coast of Tasmania, Australia. Situated near where the mouth of Port Davey meets the Southern Ocean, the 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) island is part of the Swainson Islands Group, and comprises part of the Southwest National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.
The Fitzroy Islands comprise a group of four rocky islets that lie within the upper reaches of Payne Bay in Port Davey, an oceanic inlet, located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. The islands have a combined area of approximately 0.18 hectares and are contained with the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site and the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve.
The Mavourneen Rocks is a group of four steep, rocky islets that lie within Port Davey, an oceanic inlet, located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. The islets have a combined area of approximately 0.88 hectares and are contained with the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site and the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve.
Munday Island is a small island that lies between Port Davey, an oceanic inlet, and Bathurst Channel, located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. The island is contained with the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site and the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve.
The Port Davey Track, officially the Old Port Davey Track, is a bushwalking track located in the south western region of Tasmania, Australia. The 70-kilometre (43 mi) track traverses remote wilderness within the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site, and is managed as a wilderness walk. The Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service recommend that experienced bushwalkers can take four-to-five days to cover the track in one direction.
James Kelly Basin is a bay inside Port Davey in South West Tasmania, in the Southwest National Park. It lies below Davey Head (346m), and opens into Payne Bay, a northern arm of Port Davey that is west of Bathurst Harbour. It was named after James Kelly, an early explorer of the Tasmanian coastline.
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