Shark Bay, Australia

May 25, 2008-May 31, 2008

Shark Bay is found on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. It is an approximately 10,000-square kilometer bay, about 800 kilometers north of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. Shark Bay is divided by shallow banks and consists of several islets and peninsulas. Its coastline extends to a length of 1,500 kilometers. Its average depth is 10 meters.

Shark Bay is well-known for its huge area (about 4,000 square kilometers) of sea grass meadows which, is the largest in the world. It houses twelve species of sea grasses—the largest number of such a species ever recorded in one place.

Because of the existence of these marine plants, sea mammals such as dolphins and dugongs (sea cows) treat the bay as their habitat. Other than them, animals such as 323 fish species, 230 bird species, 150 reptile species and 26 threatened Australian mammal species also inhabit the bay.

Layered accretionary structures called stromatolites are then abundant on the shallow waters of Hamelin Pool, in the southern part of the bay. Stromatolites are formed by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms of microbes. The ones that are found on the bay are believed to be over 3,000 years of age.

Having a great zoological and botanical significance, the UNESCO listed Shark Bay as a World Heritage Site in 1991.

Top 3 Shark Bay Snapshots

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