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Capricornia Cays National Park
Capricornia Cays is both a national park and a scientific national park in Queensland (Australia), located 486 km and 472 km north of the state capital Brisbane respectively. Collectively they comprise 241 ha of coral cays. Popular recreational activities in the park includes bird, whale and turtle watching as well as camping, walking, swimming, boating, snorkelling and diving. Capricornia Cays National Park is noted for its biological diversity, beauty and for provided habitat for a number of endangered plants and animals. In particular the cays are recognized as having the largest breeding population of endangered loggerhead turtles in the South Pacific. Access to the islands via boat is available from Gladstone, Bundaberg and 1770. Birds The cays form an Important Bird Area because they support more than 1% of the world populations of black noddies (with up to 300,000 nests) and wedge-tailed shearwaters (up to 560,000 nests), making up the majority of the eas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. The United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. Although Yellowstone was not officially termed a "national park" in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. However, the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve (in what is now Trinidad and Tobago; established in 1776), and the area surrounding Bogd Khan Mountain, Bogd Khan Uul Mountain (Mongolia, 1778), wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heron Island, Australia
Heron Island is a coral cay located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef, north-east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and north-north-west of the state capital Brisbane. The island is situated on the leeward (western) side of Heron Reef, a fringing platform reef of significant biodiversity, supporting around 900 of the 1,500 fish species and 72% of the coral species found on the Great Barrier Reef.University of Queensland Centre for Marine StudiesIsland Research Station Retrieved 2006-JUL-14. During the summer months Heron Island is also home to over 200,000 birds including Noddy Terns and Mutton Birds. The island is about long and at its widest, giving an area of approximately . The highest point, near the western tip, is above sea level. A dune ridge along the southern shore rises some above sea level, lower dunes on the north-eastern side are only about above the sea. Heron Island and an extrapolated version of the research station ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geographic Coordinates
The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various spatial reference systems that are in use, and forms the basis for most others. Although latitude and longitude form a coordinate tuple like a cartesian coordinate system, the geographic coordinate system is not cartesian because the measurements are angles and are not on a planar surface. A full GCS specification, such as those listed in the EPSG and ISO 19111 standards, also includes a choice of geodetic datum (including an Earth ellipsoid), as different datums will yield different latitude and longitude values for the same location. History The invention of a geographic coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who composed his now-lost ''Geography'' at the Library of Alexandria in the 3rd century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoskyn Islands (Queensland)
Hoskyn Islands is a pair of small coral cays. They are located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef, 107 km due east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and 412 km north of the state capital Brisbane. The island is the fourth island in the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands (with the first being Lady Elliot Island), and is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group of islands, forming part of the Capricornia Cays National Park as well as part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area. Most people only see the island by the more easily reached Lady Musgrave Island, which can be readily reached by fast catamaran from the town of 1770, Queensland, or from Gladstone, both of which are located approximately five hours' drive north of Brisbane. The pair of Hoskyn cays are *East Hoskyn *West Hoskyn Geomorphology and landscape The eastern cay is composed of shingle and supports vegetation similar to, although less well-developed than, that of L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairfax Islands (Queensland)
Fairfax Islands is a pair of small coral cays, both of which have been used as a bombing range. They are located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef, due east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and north of the state capital Brisbane. The island is the third island in the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands (with the first being Lady Elliot Island), and is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group of islands and forms part of the Capricornia Cays National Park as well as of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area. Most people only see the island by the more easily reached Lady Musgrave Island, which can be readily reached by fast catamaran from Bundaberg (4 hours north of Brisbane), the town of 1770, Queensland, or from Gladstone, both of which are located approximately five hours drive north of Brisbane. Fairfax Islands *East Fairfax *West Fairfax Geomorphology and landscape The eastern cay is composed of shingle and the western of sand and shin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wreck Island (Queensland)
Wreck Island is a small coral cay. It is located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef, 93 km due north east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and 460 km north of the state capital Brisbane. The island is part of the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands, and is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group of island and forms part of the Capricornia Cays National Park. It is also part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area. General Wreck Island is mainly formed from beach rock which is well developed along the southern beach. The island is situated on the south west end of a coral reef platform which is about 3.5 km by 1.5 km in size. The vegetation is similar to that on Tryon Island except that the Pisonia grandis forest is less well developed. Geomorphology and landscape The Capricorn and Bunker Cays form part of a distinct geomorphic province at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The cays and their reefs lie on the we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Tree Island (Queensland)
One Tree Island is a small coral cay. It is located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef, 96 km due east nor east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and 450 km north of the state capital Brisbane. The island is part of the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands, and is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group of island and forms part of the Capricornia Cays National Park. It is also part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area. General One Tree Island is a rubble or shingle cay at the eastern end of a coral reef which is about 5.5 km by 3.5 km in size Vegetation consists of scattered velvet soldierbush and ''Scaevola taccada'' with several small groves of ''Pisonia grandis''. A small pond of brackish water is situated near the centre of tile cay. A research station conducted by Sydney University is located on the cay. Geomorphology and landscape The Capricorn and Bunker Cays form part of a distinct geomorphic province at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pisonia Grandis
''Pisonia grandis'', the grand devil's-claws, is a species of flowering tree in the ''Bougainvillea'' family, Nyctaginaceae. Description The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that mature into sticky barbed seeds. Dispersal occurs when seeds stick to bird feathers. Vegetative reproduction frequently results when fallen branches sprout or basal shoots develop into new trees. Distribution ''Pisonia'' trees are distributed throughout the coral cays of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The species often dominates mature coral cay vegetation, growing in dense, thick strands up to tall. ''Pisonia'' wood is rather weak and soft and decays rapidly when the trees fall. ''Pisonia'' forests are a common nesting site for seabirds. One of the best remaining ''Pisonia'' forests can be found on Palmyra Atoll. St. Pierre Island, Farquhar Group, was once covered by a ''Pisonia grandis'' forest. This forest disappeared after guano minin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, separated from the coast by a channel 100 miles wide in places and over 200 feet deep. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN labelled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world in 1997. Australian World Heritage places included it in its list in 2007. The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland in 2006. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prawn
Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature's most confusing terms''Pages 106–109, John Wiley & Sons. . is used particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations, for large swimming crustaceans or shrimp, especially those with commercial significance in the fishing industry. Shrimp that are present in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. In North America, the term is used less frequently, typically for freshwater shrimp. The terms shrimp and prawn themselves lack scientific standing. Over the years, the way they are used has changed, and in contemporary usage the terms are almost interchangeable. Shrimp'' vs. ''prawn Regional distinctions The terms shrimp and prawn originated in Britain. In the use of common names for species, shrim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilson Island (Queensland)
Wilson Island is an island in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. It is one of eight vegetated coral cays in the Capricornia Cays National Park. It is located north of the Tropic of Capricorn, approximately north east off the coast of Gladstone, Queensland and 15 kilometres from nearby Heron Island. It is part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area. It is also part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. History The island is named after Sub-Lieutenant William T.P. Wilson of HMS Waterwitch. Wildlife Wilson Island is an important turtle and bird rookery fringed by a white coral beach and covered with pisonia forest. The Capricorn silvereye, a small bird endemic to the southern Great Barrier Reef, is present. From November to March, the island is home to wedge-tailed shearwaters and green turtles laying their eggs. The island is closed during the month of February for the bird nesting season. From January to April, baby green turtles hatch and make t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tryon Island
Tryon Island is a coral cay located in the southern Great Barrier Reef, 86 km northeast of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and 465 km north of the state capital Brisbane. The island is a protected area and forms part of Capricornia Cays National Park. It is part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area. The cay covers an area of and is surrounded by a coral reef that is partially exposed at low-tide. Geomorphology and landscape On Tryon Island, there is beach rock along the north western and south eastern beaches. The cay has in the past been covered with dense vegetation. The Capricorn and Bunker Cays form part of a distinct geomorphic province at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The cays and their reefs lie on the western marginal shelf, and are separated from the mainland by the Curtis Channel. The cays are not generally visible from the mainland, although Masthead Island may be viewed from Mount Larcom on a clear day. Geologically, the cays are yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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