Esperance
Esperance | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
Esperance is a city on the south coast of the Australian state of Western Australia . It has 10,000 inhabitants (2016) and belongs to the Goldfields-Esperance region .
history
Esperance's story began in 1627 when the Dutch ship “Guild Zeepaard” passed the stretch of coast there.
It is believed that French explorers first moored on the site of the present-day city, naming the place and other local areas and towns when they sought refuge in the countryside from a 1792 storm. The city itself is named after the French ship, the "L'Espérance", which means "hope" in German.
Whalers, pirates, chaplains and miners followed, who heavily exploited the free land and took part in the great gold rush in the mines to the north.
The seaside resort is not very well known abroad because of the relatively cooler climate, as you can only swim in the cooler sea of South Australia in summer. Esperance lives from tourism, fishing and agriculture. In front of the city lie the more than 105 islands and more than 1,800 cliffs of the Recherche Archipelago .
Attractions
There are many beaches in the area that offer swimming, surfing and diving opportunities. There is a lake near the city, which is also called "Pink Lake" because of its pink water - under certain weather conditions . This color is caused, among other things, by the Dunalella Salina alga. On the Recherche Archipelago belonging Island Middle Iceland in the ocean in front of the city is the Lake Hillier , another lake, which shows this phenomenon, this retains its color even permanently.
There are five large national parks in the vicinity of the city , for example Cape Arid National Park and Cape Le Grand National Park . The latter is a major tourist attraction: it is 56 km from the city and offers visitors a fairytale coastline and white sandy beaches. The park is a popular place for fishing and hiking.
One destination is the gold rush town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, four hours away .
The Municipal Museum in town exhibits curiosities. A special feature are the parts of the US space station Skylab , which in 1979 - six years after its launch and for years without a crew - broke into several parts when it crashed, some of which shattered near Esperance.
The 36 km long Esperance Great Ocean Drive circular route offers impressive views of the coast and its white dune beaches as well as a view of the "Pink Lake".
climate
Esperance has a Mediterranean type of climate that is characterized by hot and dry summers and cool and humid winters. In summer, the maximum temperature averages around 25 ° C, but occasional hot and dry north winds can pull over the arid interior to the northeast, which can raise temperatures to 40 ° C and more.
The winter climate is generally less prone to extremes. The weather pattern is dominated by the cool, humid wind from the Southern Ocean , which brings cooling and most of the annual rain in cold fronts. The average maximum temperatures are 10–15 ° C.
Esperance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Climate diagram | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Esperance
Source: Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, data: 1969–2002; wetterkontor.de
|
Web links
- Web site Esperance (English)
- Espérances visitor center (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics : Esperance (Urban Center / Locality) ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ↑ Bureau of Meteorology, Australia: Klimeinformationen Esperance. World Meteorological Organization, accessed April 6, 2012 .