The Dales is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

site located at the western end of

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

, an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n external territory in the eastern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

. The site has been recognised as being of international importance by designation under the

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

History

The Dales were the first location where Europeans set foot on Christmas Island in 1688, during the expedition of

William Dampier William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnav ...

. Nowadays the Dales are visited by local residents and tourists for sightseeing. One of the subsites, Hugh's Dale, has religious significance for

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

of Chinese

background Background may refer to: Performing arts and stagecraft * Background actor * Background artist * Background light * Background music * Background story * Background vocals * ''Background'' (play), a 1950 play by Warren Chetham-Strode Record ...

Description

The site comprises a system of seven watercourses within the Christmas Island National Park, including permanent and perennial

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

s, permanent springs, the Hugh's Dale waterfall, and most of the surface water on the island. The site is set within

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equator ...

and adjoins the coast. The streams originate from groundwater seepages and flow into the ocean having, over time, worn gullies into the coastal cliffs.Blowholes, beaches... etc. It was designated on 21 October 2002 as Ramsar Site 1225, and is the first Australian Ramsar site to contain both surface and subterranean

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

features.Annotated Ramsar List. Area of Ramsar site is about 57 ha. It was also listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia prior to 2001.Eyles et al, 2001, pages 117 & 120 Interesting geological features of the Dales are

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...

and rimstone formations of Hugh's Dale and the gully of Sydney's Dale, which closer at the sea gets up to 12 m deep and 9 m wide.

Flora and fauna

The site contains a unique stand of enormous Tahitian chestnut trees. Sydney Dale is a recorded site for the critically endangered endemic fern, the Christmas Island spleenwort. The various wetland types of the Dales support populations of

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

and

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depe ...

animals, including the

Christmas Island hawk-owl The Christmas boobook (''Ninox natalis''), also known more specifically as the Christmas Island hawk-owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Closely related to the hawk-owls of genus ''Ninox'', which occur in Southeast Asia and Austral ...

Christmas Island goshawk The Christmas goshawk (''Accipiter fasciatus natalis'') or Christmas Island goshawk, is a bird of prey in the goshawk and sparrowhawk family Accipitridae. It is a threatened endemic of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern In ...

Abbott's booby Abbott's booby (''Papasula abbotti'') is an endangered seabird of the sulid family, which includes gannets and boobies. It is a large booby and is placed within its own monotypic genus. It was first identified from a specimen collected by Will ...

, Christmas Island shrew and the

Christmas Island blind snake The Christmas Island blind snake (''Ramphotyphlops exocoeti)'' is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Christmas Island. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. Etymology The specific nam ...

. Coastline habitats within the site provide breeding and spawning grounds for red and

blue crabs Blue crab may refer to: * Blue Crab 11, an American sailboat design * ''Callinectes sapidus'' – Chesapeake or Atlantic blue crab of the West Atlantic, introduced elsewhere * '' Cardisoma guanhumi'' – blue land crab of the West Atlantic * ''Disc ...

. The main threat to the site comes from

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

, in particular the

yellow crazy ant The yellow crazy ant (''Anoplolepis gracilipes''), also known as the long-legged ant or Maldive ant, is a species of ant, thought to be native to West Africa or Asia. They have been accidentally introduced to numerous places in the world's trop ...

and the development of Immigration Reception Centre nearby, above the springs.

Access

The road to the site's car-park is for 4WD vehicles only. There are walking tracks from the car-park to Hugh's Dale and Anderson's Dale, with interpretive signage for visitors.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * Ramsar sites in Australia Geography of Christmas Island DIWA-listed wetlands {{Australia-protected-area-stub