Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
The Sir Edward Pellew - Islands, a group of five large islands lying off the north coast of Australia in the southwestern corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the large estuary system of the McArthur River in the Northern Territory. The nearest major town Borroloola 60 km inland on the Australian mainland. On the islands there are eight small villages ( Family outstations ), each with usually four to six residents.
History
1802 Matthew Flinders named the islands in honor of British naval hero Sir Edward Pellew. Flinders was the first British explorers in this area, but reported signs that the islands had been visited by foreigners, in which he suspected Chinese. The islands had been seen already in 1644 by Abel Tasman, who assumed that they were a part of the main land and called it Cape Vanderlin.
Description
The archipelago consists of five large islands: Vanderlin Iceland, North Iceland, West Iceland, Iceland Centre and Southwest Iceland. Southwest Iceland and Iceland Centre are British Crown land. You are surrounded by more than fifty small, sandy islands, reefs and rocks on which lianas thickets, open forests and bushland, hills of sandstone, tidal flats, mangroves and sand dunes are located.
The total area of the islands is 2100 km ². The main island Vanderlin Iceland is 32 km long and 8 km wide. Four of the eight small settlements (family outstations ) lie on Vanderlin Iceland, all on the west coast. From north to south, these are Mooloowa, Babungi, Yulbara and Uguie. In the northern part of the island of 100 ha Lake Eames. Three other settlements are named after the islands on which they lie: Southwest Iceland, North Iceland and West Iceland. The eighth settlement is Jimilaya on the smaller island of Black Craggy Iceland. Most islands are temporarily inhabited by the indigenous Yanyuwa, they are also part of the Wurralibi Aboriginal land. Tourists can camp and fish for a fee. North Iceland is home to 5.41 km ² Barranyi - North - Iceland National Park, which accounts for 8 % of the area of all the islands. At the Paradise Bay there are places where free camping is possible, drinking water and barbecue facilities are available.
Environment
The Pearce, Urquhart and Hervey Islands Important Bird Area is a bird sanctuary of BirdLife International, as it represents a major hotbed of thousands of terns on three small islands in the group, which are in the northeast of the North Iceland. In addition to the protection of birds, there are significant breeding ground for sea turtles. 14 plants and 2 reptiles are endemic.
The world 's largest zinc mine, McArthur River mine at McArthur River, which is operated in the open pit, stores large amounts of heavy metals in tailing slurry ponds, which are regarded as a threat to the flora and fauna of the island world.