The Burrup Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia: an introduction to the history of its discovery and study, marine habitats and their flora and fauna

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 8 years ago

INTRODUCTION – The Dampier Archipelago lies between latitudes 20°20'5 – 20°45'5 and longitudes 116°24'S – 117°05'E on the Pilbara coast in northwestern Australia, with the towns of Dampier and Karratha as its focus. The archipelago is situated at the eastern end of an extensive chain of small coastal islands between Exmouth and Dampier and is one of the major physical features of the Pilbara coast (Figures 1 and 2). Western Australia's mineral resources sector is flourishing and much of the state's investment potential lies in the iron ore and gas and oil-rich Pilbara region, an area of distinctive climate, geology, land forms, soils, vegetation and biota.

The environment and flora and fauna, both marine and terrestrial, of the Dampier Archipelago have considerable regional significance and are subject to increasing human impacts. This is an introduction to the archipelago, its climate, geology and landform and the marine environments that surround it. First, however, the history of its earliest occupation, discovery by western explorers and the modern economic forces that are driving the development of the archipelago are described.