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Cumberland Islands
The Cumberland Islands form a group of 70 islands at on the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Mackay, Queensland, Mackay in Queensland, Australia. They were discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770. In 1770 James Cook (then a lieutenant in the Royal Navy) in HMS Endeavour, His Majesty's Bark the ''Endeavour'' sailed past the coast off Mackay. After travelling north for a further two days, in his journal for Monday 4 June he recorded that he named the body of water through which he sailed Whitsunday's Passage "''… as it was discovered on the day the Church commemorates that Festival''" and called the islands in the area "''Cumberland Isles in honour of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland''" (Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, Henry Frederick, the brother of His Majesty King George III of Great Britain). In giving the name, Cook gave no firm indication which islands in the area were encompassed, but his chart showed the name covering islands as far south as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Barrier Reef
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 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
