Yorke Peninsula
| Yorke Peninsula | ||
 Coast of South Australia |
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| Geographical location | ||
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| Coordinates | 34 ° 21 ′ S , 137 ° 37 ′ E | |
| Waters 1 | Spencer Gulf (Indian Ocean) | |
| Waters 2 | Gulf Saint Vincent (Indian Ocean) | |
| length | 200 km | |
| width | 50 km | |
| surface | 10,000 km² | |
 In the center of the picture the boot-shaped Yorke Peninsula, south of it the Kangaroo Island |
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The Yorke Peninsula ( English Yorke Peninsula ) is a large headland on the west coast of the Australian state of South Australia between the Spencer Gulf and the Gulf of Saint Vincent and about 150 km from Adelaide . The Yorke Peninsula is about 200 km long and 50 km wide and resembles the shape of a foot.
The peninsula is sparsely populated. The most important locations include the mining towns of Kadina , Moonta and Wallaroo on the Copper Coast in the northwest, the agricultural centers Maitland and Minlaton in the central area and Yorketown in the south of the island and the seaside resorts of Ardrossan and Edithburgh on the east coast. The island is a popular weekend getaway for Adelaide families.
In the very southwest of the peninsula lies the Innes National Park .
history
The island was named after the British politician Charles Philip Yorke by the explorer Matthew Flinders . He prevailed against the French Nicolas Baudin , who wanted to name the island Cambaceres Peninsula .
Before it was settled by Europeans around 1840, the peninsula was home to the Aboriginal tribe of the Narungga , who lived there as nomads and made their living from fishing and hunting. A few indigenous people of this tribe still live on the peninsula today, supported by the Narungga Aboriginal Progress Association in Maitland.
Almost all coastal cities have their own pier, which was used in the past to transport goods and goods by steamship. Today the piers are mainly used for fishing, as most goods are transported by truck due to the expansion of the roads on the peninsula.
economy
Much grain, especially barley , is grown on the Yorke Peninsula . Since the peninsula has no rail link, the grain is shipped by sea. The most important ports for this are in Port Giles, Wallaroo and Ardrossan, whereby this port is also used to ship dolomite rock from the nearby OneSteel mine .