Geographe Bay is in the south-west of Western Australia around 220 km southwest of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. The bay was named in May 1801 by French explorer

Nicolas Baudin Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 1754 – 16 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific. Biography Early career Born a comm ...

, after his ship, ''Géographe''. The bay is a wide curve of coastline extending from

Cape Naturaliste Cape Naturaliste is a headland in the south western region of Western Australia at the western edge of the Geographe Bay. It is the northernmost point of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge which was named after the cape. Also the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ...

past the towns of Dunsborough and Busselton, ending near the city of Bunbury. The bay is protected from the rough seas of the Indian Ocean by Cape Naturaliste (named after ''Naturaliste''), which makes it a popular destination for recreational boaters. The bay is extremely shallow, limiting the entrance of large ships. To alleviate this problem the two-kilometre-long

Busselton Jetty Busselton Jetty is the longest timber-piled jetty (pier) in the Southern Hemisphere at long. The jetty is managed by a not-for-profit community organisation, Busselton Jetty Inc. The jetty's construction commenced in 1864 and the first section ...

, the longest in the southern hemisphere, was built. The

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

frigate was sunk in the bay off the town of Dunsborough on 14 December 1997, for use as a

dive wreck Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...

. The bay attracts whale watchers, who see it as an alternative to

Flinders Bay Flinders Bay is a bay and locality that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River. The locality and bay lies to the north east of Cape Leeuwin which is the most south-westerly mainland poin ...

. The north west part of the bay is the location of a number of surf breaks. The environment of the drainage systems into the bay, and the bay itself have attracted research and studies.

Notes

François Péron: An Impetuous Life: Naturalist and Voyager, Miegunyah/MUP, Melb., 2006, , * Fornasiero, Jean; Monteath, Peter and West-Sooby, John. ''Encountering Terra Australis: the Australian voyages of Nicholas Baudin and Matthew Flinders'', Kent Town, South Australia, Wakefield Press, 2004. * Frank Horner, The French Reconnaissance: Baudin in Australia 1801–1803, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1987 . * Marchant, Leslie R. ''French Napoleonic Placenames of the South West Coast'', Greenwood, WA. R.I.C. Publications, 2004.

External links

{{Authority control Bays of Western Australia Capes region of South West Western Australia

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