Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island is an island 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This 52 km² (20.1 sq mi) mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,107 permanent residents. The island is accessible from Townsville Breakwater to Nelly Bay Harbour by ferry. There is a large 27 km² (10.4 sq mi) National Park and bird sanctuary and walking tracks can be taken between the populated bays and to a number of tourist destinations such as the World War II forts.

The island has long become established as a holiday destination with many hotels and several resorts in operation to cater for all levels of service. The public facilities and infrastructure on the island are managed by the Townsville City Council. The island is part of the electoral district of Townsville in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The island is also part of the Federal seat of Herbert, which is represented by Ewen Jones.

Naming

The name of the island came about because of the apparent "magnetic" effect it had on the ship's compass of Captain Cook as he passed the island when sailing up the east coast of Australia in 1770. People have since explored the general area of Magnetic Island with various instruments to discover what might have caused the effect that Cook reported, but nothing has been discovered. The island's mysterious magnetic effect is the basis for the 2015 speculative fiction novel 'A Tango with the Dragon.' The local name for the island is "Maggie Isle", "Maggie Island", or "The Island".

Magnetic Island (Alaska)

Magnetic Island is a small island on the north side of Tuxnedi Bay, an inlet on the lower west side of Cook Inlet in south-central Alaska. The island is surrounded by mudflats that are under water during high tides. The island got its name from the presence of magnetism (believed to due to magnetite) identified during a geological survey in 1951. Its shape and geology are heavily influenced by Mount Redoubt and Mount Iliamna, two active volcanoes located less than 20 miles (32 km) away. The island is most notable for its archaeological significance, which includes a prehistoric human habitation site which has been dated to c. 1800-1400 BCE. The sites consists of a series of depressions, which when excavated in 2012, yielded several layers of cultural materials, included fire-cracked stones and hearths, and stone tools stylistically associated with the Arctic Small Tool tradition. The site was probably abandoned due to volcanic activity.

The archaeological site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.