Bernier Island

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Bernier Island
Location of Bernier Island in Shark Bay
Location of Bernier Island in Shark Bay
Waters Indian Ocean
Geographical location 24 ° 52 ′  S , 113 ° 8 ′  E Coordinates: 24 ° 52 ′  S , 113 ° 8 ′  E
Bernier Island (Western Australia)
Bernier Island
length 26 km
width 2.6 km
surface 45 km²
Highest elevation 37  m
Residents uninhabited

Bernier Island is an elongated island off the west coast of Australia .

geography

The island, located about 50 kilometers west of the city of Carnarvon , is 45 km² in size and separated from the adjoining Dorre Island to the south by a four meter deep and 500 meter wide sound . Tiny Koks Island is 400 m north .

The island is part of the Bernier and Dorre Island Nature Reserve in Shark Bay in Western Australia .

history

The Île Bernier from the Atlas de l'expédition Baudin

Bernier Island and Dorre Island were discovered by the Dutch navigator Dirk Hartog at the beginning of the 17th century . In 1801, the French astronomer Pierre-François Bernier visited the island named after him. Bernier reports that the island would not be suitable for permanent settlement due to, among other things, a lack of fresh water.

At the beginning of the 19th century, a medical isolation ward was built on the island. The islands are uninhabited today, but home to some of the last specimens of the banded hare kangaroo ( Lagostrophus fasciatus ).

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