Fraser Island
Fraser IslandFraser 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.
Geography and ecology
Fraser Island is separated from the mainland by Great Sandy Strait. The southern tip, near Tin Can Bay, is situated to the north of Inskip Peninsula. The most northern point of the island is Sandy Cape where the Sandy Cape Light operated from 1870 to 1994. The establishment of the lighthouse was the first permanent European settlement on the island. The nearest large town to Fraser Island is Hervey Bay, whileMaryborough and Bundaberg are also close by. The bay on the north east coast is called Marloo Bay and on the north west coast is Platypus Bay. The most westerly place on the island is Moon Point.
Eli Creek is the largest creek on the east coast of the island with a flow of 80 million litres per day. Eli Creek has its own unique and varied wild life. Coongul Creek on the west coast has a flow rate of four to five million litres per hour.[Some of the swamps on the island are fens, particularly near Moon Point. This was only discovered in 1996 when a group of experts who had attended a Ramsar conference in Brisbane flew over the island and conducted an aerial survey.
Sandmass and The PinnaclesThe total volume of sand above sea level on Fraser Island is directly proportional to the mass of 113 cubic kilometres (27 cubic miles).All of the sand, which originated in the Hawkesbury Hunter and Clarence River catchments in New South Wales has been transported north bylongshore transport. Along the eastern coast of the island the process is removing more sand than it is depositing, resulting in the slow erosion of beaches which may accelerate with sea level rises attributed to climate change.
Sandmass and The PinnaclesAll hills on the island have been formed by sandblowing. Sandblows are parabolic dunes which move across the island via the wind and are devoid of vegetation. In 2004, there was an estimated total of 36 sandblows on the island.]With year-round south-easterly wind, the sand dunes on the island move at the rate of 1 to 2 metres a year and grow to a height of 244 metres. The dune movement creates overlapping dunes and sometimes intersects waterways and covers forests. Dune-building has occurred in episodes as the sea levels have changed and once extended much further to the east. The oldest dune system has been dated at 700,000 years, which is the world's oldest recorded sequence
The coloured sands found at Rainbow Gorge, The Cathedrals, The Pinnacles and Red Canyon are examples of where the sand has been stained over thousands of years due to the sand conglomerating with clay Hematite, the mineral pigment responsible for the staining acts like cement. This allows the steeper cliffs of coloured sand to form. Coffee rock, so-called because when it is dissolved in water it turns the colour of coffee, is found in outcrops along the beaches on both sides of the island.
LakesFraser Island has over 100 freshwater lakes,as well as the second highest concentration of lakes in Australia after Tasmania. The freshwater lakes on Fraser Island are some of the cleanest lakes in the world.A popular tourist area is Lake McKenzie which is located inland from the small town of Eurong. It is a perched lake sitting on top of compact sand and vegetable matter 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level. Lake McKenzie has an area of 150 hectares and is just over 5 metres (16 ft) in depth. The beach sand of Lake McKenzie is nearly pure silica. The lakes have very few nutrients and ph varies, though sunscreen and soaps bare a problem as a form of pollution.
Freshwater on the island may become stained by organic acids found in decaying vegetation. Because of the organic acids a pH level of 3.7 has been measured in some of the island's perched lakes. The high acidity levels prevent many species from finding habitat in the lakes.
Another perched lake on the island is Lake Boomanjin, which at 200 hectares in size, is the largest perched lake in the world.[ In total there are 40 perched lakes on the island, half of all known lakes of this kind on the planet. Lake Boomanjin is fed by two creeks that pass through a wallum swamp where it collects tannins which tint the water red. Lake Wabby is the deepest lake on the island, at 12 metres (39 ft) in depth and also the least acidic which means it has the most aquatic life of all the lakes.
Lakes
ClimateFraser Islands climate is generally mild and is not subject to extremes in temperature due to the moderating influence of the ocean. Temperatures rarely rise above 35 °C or drop below 5 °C and humidity is consistently high. Rainfall is heaviest during the summer and early autumn, and the annual average is 1271mm (50.04 in). Cyclones can be a threat, Cyclone Hamish brushed the island as a category 5 in March 2009, while Cyclone Oswald in January 2013 was significantly weaker at a Category 1. Both storms however caused severe beach erosion, particularly on the islands northern tip
FaunaMammalsEstimates of the number of mammal species present on the island range from 25 to 50.[Mammals found on Fraser Island include swamp wallabies, echidnas, ringtail andbrushtail possums, sugar gliders, squirrel gliders, phascogales, bandicoots, potoroos, flying foxes and dingoes. The swamp wallaby finds protection from dingos in the swampy areas which have dense undergrowth.There are 19 species of bats which live on or visit Fraser Island.Until 2003, when they were removed by the Environmental Protection Agency,[there were a few brumbies (horses) on the island, descendants of Arab stock turned loose for breeding purposes, and joined in 1879 by horses brought over for the logging industry
Reptiles and amphibianshere has been a total of 74 different species of reptiles recorded on Fraser Island.18 species of snakes have been identified with one third of them considered dangerous, including the extremely venomous eastern brown snake. Goannas, snakes geckos skinks and frogs are all present on the island. Some frog species have evolved to cope with the acidic waters of lakes and swamps on the island, and are appropriately called acid frogs.[ The island is home to the recently discovered Fraser Island sand skink. Freshwater turtles such as Kreffts river turtle are found in the island's lakes and creeks.
Saltwater crocodiles are exclusively tropical reptiles and usually found in Far North Queensland (several hundred kilometres north-west of Fraser Island,) however, occasionally during the warmer season (December through March, when water temperatures reach consistent tropical temperatures) crocodiles may appear in areas in and around Fraser Island. During the 2008–2009 summer several crocodiles (one over 4 metres in length) were present in the surrounding ocean.[ It is thought that these reptiles are seasonal visitors, as they always disappear during the cold months (presumably returning to tropical northern Queensland.)
ADMINISTRATIONFraser Island is part of the local government area Fraser Coast Region, which was created in March 2008 as a result of the report of the Local Government Reform Commission released in July 2007. Before the local government reorganisation, the island was split up evenly between the City of Hervey Bay (northern part) and the City of Maryborough (southern part)
ADMINISTRATIONIn 1971, the northern half of the island was declared a national park.Now almost all of Fraser Island is included in the Great Sandy National Park, which is administered by Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency. This was extended in 1992 when heritage listing was granted. Except for a few small urban areas the island is protected by a Wild Rivers declaration.
History and settlementThe name Fraser Island comes from Eliza Fraser and her story of survival from a shipwreck on the island. Captain James Fraser and his wife, Eliza Fraser, were shipwrecked on the island in 1836. Their ship, theStirling Castle, set sail from Sydney to Singapore with 18 crew and passengers. The ship was holed on coral while travelling through the Great Barrier Reef north of the island
ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANSArchaeological research and evidence shows that Aboriginal Australians occupied Fraser Island at least 5000 years ago. There was a permanent population of 400–600 that grew to 2000–3000 in the winter months due to abundant seafood resources. The arrival of European settlers in the area was an overwhelming disaster for the Badtjala people. European settlement in the 1840s overwhelmed the Aboriginal lifestyle with weapons, disease and lack of food. By the year 1890, Aboriginal numbers had been reduced to only 300 people
Sand mining
The geological wealth of the island lay in its rich deposits of rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite. Sand mining leases were first granted in 1950, and mining continued until 1977.[ Without public knowledge the Queensland Government granted mining leases to the American mining company Dillingham-Murphyores in the 1960s. In 1971, the Fraser Island Defense Organisation (FIDO) opposed the granting of more leases to the company. Despite more than 1,300 submissions that were made to the local mining warden objecting to new leases, the submission was granted.
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