Fraser Island

Fraser Island is a heritage-listed island located along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Brisbane. It is a locality within the Fraser Coast Region. Its length is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) and its width is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi). It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992. The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1840 km². It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia.

The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike on many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants. Fraser Island is home to a small number of mammal species, as well as a diverse range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater crocodile. The island is part of the Fraser Coast Region and protected in the Great Sandy National Park.

Fraser Island (Nunavut)

Fraser Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located at the mouth of Hudson Bay off Nottingham Island's northwestern tip. The closest community is the Inuit hamlet of Cape Dorset, 120 km (75 mi) to the northeast on Baffin Island.

Geography

The island's habitat is characterized by tundra, inlets, coastal marine features, coastal cliffs, and rocky marine shores.

Fauna

Fraser Island is a Canadian Important Bird Area (#NU024), as well as a Key Migratory Bird Terrestrial Habitat site (NU Site 46). Notable bird species include common eider as well as colonial waterbirds/seabirds.

History

In 1965, the previously unnamed island was named in honor of Robert James Fraser (1887–1965), first Dominion Hydrographer.

References

External Link