Dampier Archipelago
Location of the Dampier Archipelago in the Indian Ocean
The Dampier Archipelago is a group of 42 islands near the town of Dampier in Pilbara, Western Australia.
The archipelago is also made up of reefs, shoals, channels and straits and is the traditional home of five Aboriginal language groups. It was formed 7000 years ago when rising sea levels flooded what were once coastal plains. The underlying rocks are among the oldest on Earth, formed in the Archaean period more than 2400 million years ago.
It is named after William Dampier, an English buccaneer and explorer who visited in 1699.[1] Dampier named one of the islands Rosemary Island.
Despite being a region through which considerable shipping and industrial activity occurs, the archipelago has considerable marine resources.[2]
- ^ Captain William Dampier (1709). A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland, etc. in the Year 1699. London: James Knapton. pp. 86–87. LCCN 2006584510. OL 31757889M. Wikidata Q126680180.
- ^ Jones, Diana S. Dampier Archipelago down under. Landscope, Summer 2003, p. 47-52