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Cape Bridgewater
__NOTOC__ Cape Bridgewater is a locality in the Australian state of Victoria located on the western shore of Bridgewater Bay about south-west of Portland and about west of Melbourne. The area was settled in the 1860s by the Henty family who had settled nearby Portland, and a post office opened in 1863 (closed 1968) though known as Bridgewater Lower for some years. Both Cape Bridgewater and Bridgewater Bay were named after the Duke of Bridgewater (1756-1829), by Lieutenant James Grant sailing on the '' Lady Nelson'' on 4 December 1800. Cape Bridgewater includes the following protected areas within its boundaries - the Discovery Bay Coastal Park and the Mount Richmond National Park. Cape Bridgewater is home to a colony of up to 650 fur seals and has the highest coastal cliff in Victoria. These cliffs are a suitable spot to observe southern right whales in winter and spring. The cape itself also boasts a large blowhole and karst solution pipes, colloquially known as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electoral District Of South-West Coast
The electoral district of South-West Coast is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was created prior to the 2002 election in order to replace the abolished seats of Portland and Warrnambool. The seat is dominated by the town of Warrnambool, but also includes Portland, Port Fairy, Koroit, Heywood and Macarthur. South-West Coast is located in ancestrally Liberal territory, and was thus a natural choice for Portland's former member, Denis Napthine, to transfer for the 2002 election. He barely held onto his seat in the Labor landslide of that year, seeing his margin reduced to only 0.7 percent. However, it has reverted to its previous form as a safe Liberal seat. Napthine subsequently served as Premier of Victoria from 2013 to 2014. Following his government's election loss to Labor in November 2014, Napthine resigned from parliament on 3 September 2015. Roma Britnell retained the seat for the Liberals at the ensuing by-election on 31 October. Members f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Fur Seal
The brown fur seal (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. Description The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust member of the fur seals. It has a large and broad head with a pointed snout that may be flat or turned up slightly. They have external ear flaps (pinnae) and their whiskers (vibrissae) are long, and may extend backward past the pinnae, especially in adult males. The fore flippers are covered with sparse hair over about three-quarters of their length. The hind flippers are short relative to the large body, with short, fleshy tips on the digits. The size and weight of the brown fur seal depends on the subspecies. The Southern African subspecies is on average slightly larger than the Australian subspecies. Males of the African subspecies (''A. p. pusillus'') are in length on average and weigh . Females are smaller, averaging in length and typically weighing .King, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great South West Walk
The Great South West Walk is a / 262-kilometer (163mi) walking track, established in 1981, located in South West Victoria, Australia. The track passes through the Lower Glenelg National Park, the Cobboboonee National Park, the Discovery Bay Coastal Park, the Mount Richmond National Park and the Cape Nelson State Park, and may be explored through shorter or overnight hikes, or the entire 12- to 14-day circular hike, starting and finishing in either or . A short portion of the track is located with the Lower Glenelg River Conservation Park in South Australia, near . The track is administered, maintained and promoted by The Friends of the Great South West Walk Inc., a volunteer organisation, in partnership with Parks Victoria. Track The Great South West Walk track, which notionally begins and ends at the Visitor Information Centre in Portland, traverses forest, river gorge, high cliff tops and bays. It was designed as a long-distance walking track, with the option for short ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portland Wind Project
__NOTOC__ The Portland wind farm is one of Australia's largest wind farms. Located on the coast of south-western Victoria near the city of Portland, it consists of four separate sites, all of which have been completed as of 2015. Completion of the entire 195 MW project was expected in 2011, at a capital cost of A$330 million. The project is expected to produce more than 500 GWh annually, enough electricity to power about 125,000 homes each year, and equal to more than 7% of Victoria's residential electricity demand, or powering a city the size of Geelong. The project is being developed by Pacific Hydro. History The Danish turbine manufacturer, Vestas, constructed a blade manufacturing facility at nearby Portland in August 2005. Blades from the plant were intended to support the project. Blades were ultimately sourced from overseas however, and the plant was closed down in December 2007. Vestas cited too little investment support from the Federal government as the rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Hydro
Pacific Hydro is a renewable energy company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The company was founded in 1992 and was soon floated on the Australian Stock Exchange, it was later bought by a consortium of industry superannuation funds and delisted. It is now owned by China's State Power Investment Corporation. The company builds and operates renewable energy projects, initially hydro electricity on irrigation dams, before opening its first wind farm in 2010. Pacific Hydro develops hydro, wind, solar and geothermal power projects. In addition to Australia, the company operates also in Brazil and Chile. The company is also active in the carbon market in the production and trading of carbon credits from its run-of-river hydro projects registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. On 30 November 2006, Pacific Hydro acquired wind farms developer ''SES Soluções de Energias Sustentáveis'' and renamed it Pacific Hydro Brazil. In 2012 Pacific Hy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wind Turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. Wind turbines are an increasingly important source of intermittent renewable energy, and are used in many countries to lower energy costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. One study claimed that, wind had the "lowest relative greenhouse gas emissions, the least water consumption demands and the most favorable social impacts" compared to photovoltaic, hydro, geothermal, coal and gas energy sources. Smaller wind turbines are used for applications such as battery charging for auxiliary power for boats or caravans, and to power traffic warning signs. Larger turbines can contribute to a domestic power supply while selling unused power back to the utility supplier via the electrical grid. Wind turbines are manufactured in a wide ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world's largest war memorial. Winding through varying terrain along the coast and providing access to several prominent landmarks, including the Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations, the road is an important tourist attraction in the region. In December 2020, legislation went into effect to legally protect the Great Ocean Road – called the “Great Ocean Road Environs Protection Act 2020”. The city of Geelong, close to Torquay, experiences great benefit from Australian and international visitors to the road; with Geelong Otway Tourism affirming it as an invaluable asset. The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) listed the road as the state's top tourism experience in i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Twelve Apostles (Victoria)
The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Seven of the original eight stacks remain standing at the Twelve Apostles viewpoint, after one collapsed in July 2005. Though the view from the promontory by the Twelve Apostles never included twelve stacks, additional stacks—not considered part of the Apostles group—are located to the west within the national park. Formation and history The limestone unit that forms The Twelve Apostles is referred to as the Port Campbell Limestone, which was deposited in the Mid-Late Miocene, around 15 to 5 million years ago. The Twelve Apostles were formed by erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is gone. The ground surface then collapses into the emptied or partially emptied magma chamber, leaving a large depression at the surface (from one to dozens of kilometers in diameter). Although sometimes described as a crater, the feature is actually a type of sinkhole, as it is formed through subsidence and collapse rather than an explosion or impact. Compared to the thousands of volcanic eruptions that occur each century, the formation of a caldera is a rare event, occurring only a few times per century. Only seven caldera-forming collapses are known to have occurred between 1911 and 2016. More recently, a caldera collapse occurred at Kīlauea, Hawaii in 2018. Etymology The term ''caldera'' comes from Spanish ', and Latin ', mean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blowhole (geology)
In geology, a blowhole or marine geyser is formed as sea caves grow landwards and upwards into vertical shafts and expose themselves towards the surface, which can result in hydraulic compression of sea water that is released through a port from the top of the blowhole. The geometry of the cave and blowhole along with tide levels and swell conditions determine the height of the spray. Mechanics Blowholes are likely to occur in areas where there are crevices, such as lava tubes, in rock along the coast. These areas are often located along fault lines and on islands. As powerful waves hit the coast, water rushes into these crevices and bursts out in a high pressured release. It is often accompanied by a loud noise and wide spray, and for this reason, blowholes are often sites of tourism. Marine erosion on rocky coastlines produce blowholes that are found throughout the world. They are found at intersecting faults and on the windward sides of a coastline where they receive hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20° and 60° south. In 2009 the global population was estimated to be approximately 13,600. Taxonomy Right whales were first classified in the genus '' Balaena'' in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, who at the time considered all right whales (including the bowhead) to be a single species. In the 19th and 20th centuries the family Balaenidae was the subject of great taxonometric debate. Authorities have repeatedly recategorised the three populations of right whale plus the bowhead whale, as one, two, three or four species, either in a single genus or in two separate genera. In the early whaling days, they were all thought to be a single species, ''Balaena mysticetus''. The southern right whale was initially described as ''Balaena australis'' by De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whale Watching In Australia
Whale watching in Australia is a popular recreational pursuit and a tourist activity along various coasts. In 2008, whale and dolphin watching was worth an estimated 31 million in direct expenditure to the Australian economy with an estimated 1.6 million tourists participating in the activity. Humpback whales are the most common species seen in the waters surrounding Australia while southern right whales, minke whales and blue whales are also seen. Whaling in Australia took place from 1788 to 1978 and was once commercially successful. The Australian Whale Sanctuary, which includes all of the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), was established in 1999 to protect dolphins and whales from hunting. Whale watchers are restricted to approaches as close as in order to protect the animals. West coast In Western Australia, whales are watched near Cape Naturaliste in the south-east Indian Ocean and at Cape Leeuwin where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. Whale wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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