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Steep Point () is the westernmost point of mainland Australia. It is located within the Gascoyne region of
Steep Point () is the westernmost point of mainland Australia. It is located within the Gascoyne region 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 ...
, north of the state's capital Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, in the proposed Edel Land National Park. It is also a part of the Shark Bay World Heritage Site.
The point was named ''Steyle Hock'' by Willem de Vlamingh
Willem Hesselsz de Vlamingh (November 1640 – ) was a Dutch sea captain who explored the central west coast of New Holland (Australia) in the late 17th century, where he landed in what is now Perth on the Swan River. The mission proved fruit ...
in 1697.Access
Access to Steep Point is by four-wheel drive vehicles only, as tracks to the point are throughsand dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
. The North West Coastal Highway
North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and ...
is the closest sealed road and is east of the point. An entry permit is required to travel to the point, which can be purchased at the ranger's house in Edel Land National Park, which is about east of Steep Point. Camping areas and basic facilities are also available in the park and can be purchased at the ranger's house.
The nearest town to Steep Point is Denham, also located within the Shark Bay World Heritage Site, which is from the point by four-wheel drive track and road, however only north-east of the point as the crow flies
__NOTOC__
The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliv ...
.
Surf Point on Dirk Hartog Island
A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...
() is north-northeast of Steep Point. Access to the island is possible via a ferry from Blackie's Beach east of Shelter Bay across South Passage to Cape Ransonnet, the closest point on Dirk Hartog Island to Blackie's Beach. Blackie's Beach is east-southeast from Steep Point.
Steep Point is one of Australia's most renowned land-based game fishing places, with over 320 different species of fish that have been caught off the point, where mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment.
...
, sailfish
The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae (marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the s ...
and trevally
The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only family ...
are the most common. Serious fishers harness
A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types:
* Bondage harness
* Child harness
* Climbing harness
* Dog harness
* Pet harness
* Five-point harness
* Horse harness
* Parrot harness
* ...
themselves onto the point, float their baits off the cliff using helium balloons
A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent t ...
and haul their catch up uses specially designed fishing gaff
In fishing, a gaff is a handheld pole with a sharp hook or sideway spike on the distal end, which is used to swing and stab into the body of a large fish like a pickaxe, and then pull the fish out of the water like using a pike pole. Ideally, t ...
s, however it is very common that a shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...
steals the fisher's catch before they can haul it up onto land.
Steep Point is commonly known for the "final sunset
Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spr ...
" in Australia.
Steep Point is a reference point for other places and points of interests. For example, the location of the shipwreck
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
'' HMAS Sydney'' is cited from the point. In 1994 a pamphlet of the title was produced about the wrecks along the coast.
On 17 July 2006 the largest ever recorded tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
to hit Australia was measured at high at Steep Point. It was triggered by the Pangandaran earthquake off the coast of Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...
in Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
South of Steep Point, a monument commemorates the sinking of the prawn trawler '' Nor 6'' in 1963 and the story of the survival of its skipper, Jack Drinan.
See also
*Extreme Points of Australia
This is a list of the extreme points of Australia (the country, not the continent). The list includes extremes of cardinal direction, elevation, and other points of peculiar geographic interest. The location of some points depend on whether isl ...
References
{{reflist, 30em Shark Bay Headlands of Western Australia Extreme points of Western Australia