Maupertuis Bay

Last updated

Maupertuis Bay
Australia South Australia relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Maupertuis Bay
Location in South Australia
Location Flinders Chase, South Australia [1]
Coordinates 35°59′46″S136°39′36″E / 35.996°S 136.66°E / -35.996; 136.66 Coordinates: 35°59′46″S136°39′36″E / 35.996°S 136.66°E / -35.996; 136.66 [1]
Type Bay
Primary inflows Rocky River
Basin  countries Australia
Max. length13 kilometres (8.1 mi) [2]
Max. widthabout 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) [2]
Average depth30–60 metres (98–197 ft) [2]

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]

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]

See also

Related Research Articles

Flinders Chase National Park Protected area in South Australia

Flinders Chase National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about 177 kilometres west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and 110 kilometres west of the municipal seat of Kingscote. It is a sanctuary for endangered species and home to a few geological phenomena. It was the second national park to be declared in South Australia.

Lincoln National Park Protected area in South Australia

Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about 249 kilometres (155 mi) west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 9.5 kilometres (5.9 mi) south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln. It consists of a mainland area on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula and a number of nearby islands. The national park contains significant sites of natural, indigenous and early European heritage.

Kangaroo Island Island in South Australia

Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga, is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, 112 km (70 mi) southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Point in Backstairs Passage, which is 13.5 km (8.4 mi) from the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Ravine Des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area is a protected area located on the west end of Kangaroo Island in South Australia about 80 km (50 mi) west of Kingscote. It was established in 1993 on land previously part of the Flinders Chase National Park.

Cape du Couedic is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southwest tip of Kangaroo Island in the locality of Flinders Chase. It was named after a French naval officer, Charles Louis du Couëdic de Kergoualer, by the Baudin expedition to Australia during January 1803. It is the site for the Cape du Couedic Lighthouse. It is currently located within the Flinders Chase National Park.

Cape Borda Place in South Australia

Cape Borda is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Cape Borda on the north west tip of Kangaroo Island about 70 km (43 mi) west of the municipal seat of Kingscote. It was named after Jean-Charles de Borda (1733–1799), the French mathematician, physicist, naturalist and sailor, by the Baudin expedition to Australia during January 1803. It has been the site of an operating lighthouse since 1858 and is currently located within the Flinders Chase National Park.

Cape Spencer (South Australia) Place in South Australia

Cape Spencer is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south west tip of Yorke Peninsula in the gazetted locality of Inneston. It was named after George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer by Matthew Flinders during March 1802. It has been the site of an operating navigation aid since 1950 and has been located within the Innes National Park since 1970.

Backstairs Passage Body of water

The Backstairs Passage is a strait in South Australia lying between Fleurieu Peninsula on the Australian mainland and Dudley Peninsula on the eastern end of Kangaroo Island. The western edge of the passage is a line from Cape Jervis on Fleurieu Peninsula to Kangaroo Head on Kangaroo Island. The Pages, a group of islets, lie in the eastern entrance to the strait. About 14 km wide at its narrowest, it was formed by the rising sea around 13,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene era, when it submerged the land connecting what is now Kangaroo Island with the Fleurieu Peninsula. Backstairs Passage was named by Matthew Flinders whilst he and his crew on HMS Investigator were exploring and mapping the coastline of South Australia in 1802.

<i>Loch Vennachar</i>

Loch Vennachar was a three-masted iron sailing ship (clipper) that operated between Great Britain and Australia between the late 19th century and 1905. The name was drawn from Loch Venachar, a loch which lies to the south-west of the burgh of Callander, in the Stirling region of Scotland. It is understood to mean "most beautiful lady" in Scottish Gaelic.

<i>Loch Sloy</i> Scottish barque wrecked in South Australia

Loch Sloy was a Scottish sailing barque that operated between Great Britain and Australia from the late 19th century until 1899. Her name was drawn from Loch Sloy, a freshwater loch which lies to the north of the Burgh of Helensburgh, in the region of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Ships Captains: 1877 - 1885 James Horne, 1885 – 1890 John McLean, 1890 – 1895 Charles Lehman, 1895 – 1896 James R. George, 1896 – 1899 William J. Wade, 1899 Peter Nicol.

Pelican Lagoon Body of water

Pelican Lagoon is a seawater lagoon in the Australian state of South Australia located on the north coast of Kangaroo Island about 18.7 kilometres south east of Kingscote. It was named by Matthew Flinders on 4 April 1802 after the large population of pelicans present in its waters and adjoining shorelines. Its role as fishery hatchery had been identified by the early 20th century with the result that fishing in its waters has been restricted in varying degrees.

Ravine des Casoars

Ravine des Casoars is a gorge and an associated drainage basin in the Australian state of South Australia located on the west coast of Kangaroo Island about 95 kilometres west of Kingscote.

Nepean Bay Bay in South Australia

Nepean Bay is a bay located on the north-east coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia about 130 kilometres south-south-west of Adelaide. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders, after Sir Evan Nepean on 21 March 1802.

Kangaroo Head is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located at the north-west tip of Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island. It was named by the British explorer, Matthew Flinders, on 23 March 1802.

Slade Point is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in the locality of Sceale Bay about 29 kilometres (18 mi) south of the town of Streaky Bay. The point is the northern extremity of Searcy Bay and the southern extremity of a promontory that separates Searcy Bay in the south east from Sceale Bay in the north west. While it is within the coastline first charted by Matthew Flinders on 9 February 1802, it is not named by Flinders possibly due to the coastline being obscured by a thick haze. Slade Point was named in 1908 after “the late Mr. W. E. Slade” who served as the Assistant Engineer of Harbours in the South Australian Government. The cape has adjoined the boundary of the Cape Blanche Conservation Park since 2012 while the waters adjoining its shoreline have been within a habitat protection zone in the West Coast Bays Marine Park also since 2012.

The Rocky River is a stream in the Australian state of South Australia located on the west end of Kangaroo Island in the locality of Flinders Chase.

Flinders Chase, South Australia Suburb of Kangaroo Island Council, South Australia

Flinders Chase is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-western coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight. It is located about 210 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide.

Karatta is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight. Karatta is located about 191 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide.

Middle River is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the north coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking Investigator Strait about 162 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide.

Moncrieff Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located at the east end of the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island in the gazetted locality of Willoughby overlooking Backstairs Passage about 106 kilometres (66 mi) south-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 47 kilometres (29 mi) south-east of the municipal seat of Kingscote.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Search results for "Maupertuis Bay, Bay" with the following datasets selected – 'Surface Water Catchments', 'NPW and Conservation Reserve Boundaries', 'State Marine Park Network Zoning', 'Suburbs and Localities' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian Government. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 The Waters of South Australia. Port Adelaide: Department of Marine and Harbors, Government of South Australia. 1985. p. chart 14. ISBN   0-7243-7603-8.
  3. "Groundwater - surface water interactions on Kangaroo Island, Progress report 1: Rocky River shallow piezometer drilling program" (PDF). WaterConnect. Government of South Australia. p. 7. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  4. "The discovery and exploration of Australia". australia for everyone. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  5. "Wreck of the Loch Sloy". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 May 1899. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  6. "Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park Management Plan 2012" (PDF). Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Government of South Australia. 2012. pp. 3, 5 & map 04. Retrieved 30 June 2019.