Beagle Islands (Western Australia)
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The Beagle Islands are a small group of islands in
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, found approximately north-west of Leeman.


Island group

The Beagle Islands are a group of three individual islands: * North West Beagle Island with an area of located from the mainland. * East Beagle Island with an area of located from the mainland. * South West Beagle Island with an area of located from the mainland. The group is at the northern end of the Turquoise Coast islands group, a chain of 40 islands spread over a distance of . The Beagle Islands are located in the Beagle Islands Nature Reserve, which was declared in 1962.


Geology

The islands formed approximately 10,000 years ago after large fluctuations in sea levels caused erosion on large areas of the continental shelf during periods of glaciation. Large parallel sand dunes then formed and hardened into
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, forming islands, most of which have been separated from the mainland for 6,500 years. Well preserved Tamala limestone geological features can be found on all of the Turquoise Coast islands, with supra-tidal hard coral fossils being found on the Beagle Islands.


Sea lions

The islands are home to the largest population of Australian sea lions in Western Australia, The breeding colony is estimated to be between 150 and 250 animals depending on the breeding cycle. East Beagle island is also home to the tree-like form of the Nitre Bush, an important habitat for sea lions when pupping.


Wreck

In 1905 a boat was reported as being wrecked near the islands and in 1934 a fisherman drowned after being swept overboard.


See also

*
List of islands of Western Australia For lists of islands of Western Australia, please see: * List of islands of Western Australia, 0–9, A–C *Islands of Lake Argyle * List of islands of Western Australia, D–G * List of islands of Western Australia, H–L * List of islands of W ...


References

Islands of the Mid West (Western Australia) Nature reserves in Western Australia Turquoise Coast (Western Australia) {{coord, 29, 48, 30, S, 114, 52, 31, E, display=title, region:AU_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki