Description
Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs located in the Indian Ocean, off the west coast of Australia. It is situated about 80 km (50 mi) west of Geraldton, Western Australia.
The archipelago is made up of three groups: Wallabi, Easter and Pelsaert, and is the southernmost true coral reef in the Indian Ocean, and one of the highest latitude reef systems globally.
The Houtman Abrolhos archipelago is located in the Indian Ocean, about 80 km (50 mi) west of Geraldton in the state of Western Australia. It comprises 122 Islands and associated coral reefs. The Wallabi Group, the most northerly group, consists of an island clump about 17 kilometres (11 miles) by 10 kilometres (6 miles). The Easter Group lies to the southeast of the Wallabi Group, and the Pelsaert Group to the south-east, across Zeewijk Channel.
In early November 2022, the government published its three-part plan to manage the site in the following ten years, based on research and community consultation carried out after the preceding two years. Some critics thought that the plan did not encourage land-based tourism to the archipelago enough. A spokesperson for WA's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said that their top priority is preservation of the wildlife on the islands.
Aboriginal people visited the islands during the Holocene, as evidenced by the discovery on Beacon Island of a flaked stone artefact made from Eocene fossiliferous chert.
The Houtman Abrolhos Islands have a Mediterranean climate, with warm dry summers and cooler, wet winters. Mean
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