The Bonaparte Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of

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 ...

in the Kimberley region, within the

Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

. The closest inhabited place is Kalumburu located about to the east of the island group. The archipelago was named by the Baudin expedition on 16 August 1801 after

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, First Consul of France. The archipelago is made up of the islands and islets lying off a stretch of of coastline, roughly between Collier Bay to the south-west and

Admiralty Gulf Admiralty Gulf is a gulf in the Kimberley region of Western Australia that opens into the Indian Ocean. Description The Gulf is bounded by the Bougainville Peninsula to the north and Bigge Point to the south. The nearest populated place is K ...

to the north-east, including islands in Admiralty Gulf itself. The islands are mostly small, and many are best described as islets or emergent rocks. They number several hundred in total. Several submerged banks and shoals are also found within the archipelago. The largest island in the group is

Augustus Island Augustus Island is one of the many uninhabited Canadian Arctic islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It is a Baffin Island offshore island located in inner Frobisher Bay. The island lies at the head of Ward Inlet, between Becher Peninsul ...

which has an area of . Another significant island is the Booby Island, which is classified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

and

Jungulu Island Jungulu Island is an island off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. The island is approximately offshore and only a short distance to the north east of Augustus Island with a total area of about and is found at the southern end of the ...

found just off-shore from Augustus Island. Other islands in the group include

Uwins Island Uwins Island is located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. The island encompasses an area of and is located in the Bonaparte Archipelago to the east of Hanover Bay and the west of Munster Water. Small area of mangroves, ''Avicenn ...

Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east–west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . History T ...

and

Bigge Island Bigge Island is an island off the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia, within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley. The island lies approximately from the mainland, from which it is separated by Scott Strait. It is located betw ...

References

{{coord, 14, 17, S, 125, 18, E, display=title, region:AU_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Archipelagoes of Australia Islands of the Kimberley (Western Australia)

See also

References