Ashmore Islands
| Ashmore Islands | ||
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| Waters | Timor Sea | |
| Geographical location | 12 ° 15 ′ S , 123 ° 5 ′ E | |
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| Number of islands | 3 | |
| Main island | West Iceland | |
| Land area | 61 ha | |
| total area | 227 km² | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
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The Ashmore Islands , also known as the Ashmore Reef as a geographical complex , are located in the Timor Sea , a marginal sea of the Indian Ocean . The archipelago is about 320 kilometers from the northwest coast of Australia and 144 kilometers from the Indonesian island of Roti . The island of Cartier is 60 kilometers southeast , and the Hibernia Reef is 40 kilometers northeast .
The group is formed by three uninhabited islands called West (West Islet) , Middle (Middle Islet) and East Islet , as well as a shallow reef that encompasses the entire group . Including the reef and the two lagoons (Inner Lagoon and Eastern Lagoon) the total area is approx. 227 km². The sand islands account for 0.61 km² ( West Islet : 0.32 km², Middle Islet : 0.13 km², East Islet : 0.16 km²). West Island can be reached by boat via the Lagoon channel and the Inner Lagoon .
The archipelago was discovered and named in 1811 by the English navigator Samuel Ashmore as commander of the Hibernia . In 1878 Great Britain annexed the Ashmore Islands. In 1934 they came under Australian control.
Together with Cartier Island to the southeast, the islands now form the area of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands , a dependent Australian outer area .
Indonesia has declared territorial claims for the fish-rich area around the Ashmore Islands, which the Australian government has so far always rejected.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Regional.gov.au : Ashmore and Cartier Islands (English), accessed May 7, 2015
- ^ Ashmore Reef ( September 25, 2010 memento in the Internet Archive ) on oceandots.com