Shark Bay

The record of Australian Aboriginal occupation of Shark Bay extends to years BP. At that time most of the area was dry land, and rising sea levels flooded Shark Bay between BP and BP. A considerable number of Aboriginal midden sites have been found, especially on Peron Peninsula and Dirk Hartog Island, which provide evidence of some of the foods gathered from the waters and nearby land areas. on 7 August 1699. Shark Bay was also visited by Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn in 1772, Nicolas Baudin from 1801 to 1803 and Louis de Freycinet in 1818. In the late 1930s, up to 1,000 humpback whales were taken per season. The heritage-listed area had a population of fewer than people as at the 2011 census. The half-dozen small communities making up this population occupy less than 1% of the total area. == Climate ==

The Shark Bay Heritage Area has a hot desert climate under the Köppen Climate Classification, with hot, dry summers, and very mild, relatively wet winters. }} == Shark Bay World Heritage Site ==

The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated in 1991, the first such site in Western Australia. The site was gazetted on the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 Protected areas Declared as a World Heritage Site in 1991, the site covers an area of , of which about 70 per cent are marine waters. It includes many protected areas and conservation reserves, including Shark Bay Marine Park, Francois Peron National Park, Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve, Zuytdorp Nature Reserve and numerous protected islands. They are used, with numerous other smaller islands throughout the marine park, to release threatened species that are being bred at Project Eden in François Peron National Park. These islands are free of feral non-native animals which might predate upon the threatened species, and so provide a safe haven in which to restore species that are threatened on the mainland. In 1999 the Australian Wildlife Conservancy acquired the pastoral lease over Faure Island, off Monkey Mia. Sea turtles nest there seasonally and are the subject of studies conducted in conjunction with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Fauna Shark Bay is an area of major zoological importance. It is home to about 10,000 dugongs ('sea cows'), around 12.5% of the world's population, and there are many Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, particularly at Monkey Mia. The dolphins here have been particularly friendly since the 1960s. Shark Bay also contains the largest number of seagrass species ever recorded in one place; twelve species have been found, with up to nine occurring together in some places. The seagrasses are a vital part of the complex environment of the bay. Over thousands of years, sediment and shell fragments have accumulated in the seagrasses to form vast expanses of seagrass beds. This has raised the sea floor, making the bay shallower. Seagrasses are the basis of the food chain in Shark Bay, providing home and shelter to various marine species and attracting the dugong population. In Shark Bay's hot, dry climate, evaporation greatly exceeds the annual precipitation rate. Thus, the seawater in the shallow bays becomes very salt-concentrated, or hypersaline. Seagrasses also restrict the tidal flow of waters through the bay area, preventing the ocean tides from diluting the sea water. The water of the bay is 1.5 to 2 times more salty than the surrounding ocean waters. s in Hamelin Pool are ancient structures that are built by microbes. Stromatolites Based on growth rate it is believed that about 1,000 years ago cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) began building up stromatolites in Hamelin Pool at the Hamelin Station Reserve in the southern part of the bay. These microbialites, a type of sedimentary structure, are modern examples of some of the earliest signs of life on Earth, with fossilized stromatolites being found dating from 3.5billion years ago at North Pole near Marble Bar, in Western Australia, and are considered the type of fossil with the longest continuous presence in the geological record. Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery Centre Facilities around the World Heritage area, provided by the Shire of Shark Bay and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, include the Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery Centre in Denham which provides interactive displays and comprehensive information about the features of the region. Access Access to Shark Bay is by air via Shark Bay Airport, and by the World Heritage Drive, a link road between Denham and the Overlander Roadhouse on the North West Coastal Highway. == Specific reserved areas ==

National parks and reserves in the World Heritage Area • Bernier Island • Dorre Island • Charlie Island • Francois Peron National Park • Friday Island • Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve • Hamelin Pool/East Faure Island High-Low Water Mark • Koks Island • Monkey Mia • Shark Bay Marine Park • Shell Beach • Small Islands • Zuytdorp Nature Reserve Bays of the World Heritage area • Hamelin Pool • Henri Freycinet Harbour • L'Haridon Bight Islands of the World Heritage area • Bernier Island • Dirk Hartog Island • Faure Island Peninsulas of the World Heritage area • Bellefin Prong • Heirisson Prong • Carrarang Peninsula • Peron Peninsula IBRA sub regions of the Shark Bay Area The Shark Bay area has three bioregions within the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) system: Carnarvon, Geraldton Sandplains, and Yalgoo. The bioregions are further divided into sub-bioregions: • Carnarvon bioregion (CAR) – • Wooramel sub region (CAR2) – most of Peron Peninsula and coastline east of Hamelin Pool • Cape Range sub region (CAR1) – (not represented in area) • Geraldton Sandplains bioregion (GS) – • Geraldton Hills sub region (GS1) – Zuytdorp Nature Reserve area • Leseur sub region (GS2) – (not represented in area) • Yalgoo bioregion (YAL) – • Tallering sub region (YAL2) (not represented in area) • Edel subregion (YAL1) – Bernier, Dorre and Dirk Hartog Islands == See also ==