Coral Sea Islands

The Coral Sea Islands were first charted in 1803. In the 1870s and 1880s the islands were mined for guano but the absence of a reliable supply of fresh water prevented long-term habitation.^[1] The Coral Sea Islands became an Australian external territory in 1969 by the Coral Sea Islands Act (prior to that, the area was considered a part of Queensland) and extended in 1997 to include Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef nearly 800 km further south.

The two latter reefs are much closer to Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, (about 150 km (93 mi)) than to the southernmost island of the rest of the territory, Cato Island. The islands, cays and reefs of the Great Barrier Reef are not part of the territory, belonging to Queensland instead. The outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef is the boundary between Queensland and the Coral Sea Islands Territory.

The territory is a possession or external territory of Australia, administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. Previously it was administered by the Attorney-General's Department^[2] and the Department of Transport and Regional Services.^[3] Defence is the responsibility of Australia, and the territory is visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy.

Australia maintains automatic weather stations on many of the isles and reefs, and claims a 200-nautical-mile (370 km) exclusive fishing zone. There is no economic activity (except for a significant but as yet unquantified charter fishing and diving industry), and only a staff of three or four people to run the meteorological station on Willis Island (South Islet), established in 1921.^[4] In November 2011, the Australian government announced that a 989,842-square-kilometre (382,180 sq mi) protected area was planned in the Coral Sea.^[5]

The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island has jurisdiction over the islands;^[6] however, the laws of the Australian Capital Territory apply.^[7] The territory's FIPS 10-4 code is CR, whereas ISO 3166 includes it in Australia (AU).

In June 2004, a symbolic political protest run by gay rights activists based in Australia, declared the Coral Sea Islands to be a sovereign micronation. On 17 November 2017 the same group declared the kingdom to be 'dissolved', following the results of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.^[8]

Discover more about History and status related topics

Guano

Guano

Guano is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a lesser extent, sought for the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials.

Elizabeth Reef

Elizabeth Reef

Elizabeth Reef, located at 29°57′25″S 159°4′32″E is a coral reef in the Coral Sea. The reef is separated by a deep oceanic pass, some 47 km wide, from nearby Middleton Reef, both of which are part of the underwater plateau known as the Lord Howe Rise. It is around 150 km from Lord Howe Island and 600 km from the New South Wales coast of Australia. The Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1997 included Elizabeth Reef in Australia's Coral Sea Islands Territory.

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, separated from the coast by a channel 100 miles wide in places and over 200 feet deep. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN labelled it one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World in 1997. Australian World Heritage places included it in its list in 2007. The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland in 2006.

Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory at the northern tip of the Australian Alps, the country's highest mountain range. As of June 2021, Canberra's estimated population was 453,558.

Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities

Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Cities was an Australian Public Service department of the Government of Australia that existed between December 2017 and May 2019, charged with the responsibility for infrastructure and major projects, transport, local government, external territories administration, rural and regional development, population policy, and cities.

Attorney-General's Department (Australia)

Attorney-General's Department (Australia)

The Attorney-General's Department is a department of the federal government of Australia responsible for law and justice, and since 29 May 2019, industrial relations.

Fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning.

Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a federal territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is located in this territory. It is located in southeastern Australian mainland as an enclave completely within the state of New South Wales. Founded after Federation as the seat of government for the new nation, the territory hosts the headquarters of all important institutions of the Australian Government.

FIPS 10-4

FIPS 10-4

The FIPS 10-4 standard, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions, was a list of two-letter country codes that were used by the U.S. Government for geographical data processing in many publications, such as the CIA World Factbook. The standard was also known as DAFIF 0413 ed 7 Amdt. No. 3 and as DIA 65-18.

ISO 3166

ISO 3166

ISO 3166 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, special areas of geographical interest, and their principal subdivisions. The standard employs a code of letters and numbers to represent the name of a given geographical area in order to save time and energy when describing the area, as well as to reduce the risk of description errors. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions.

Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands

Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands

The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands was a putative micronation established as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in Australia. Declared in 2004 in response to the Government of Australia's refusal to recognise same-sex marriages, it was founded on Australia's external overseas territory of the Coral Sea Islands, a group of uninhabited islets east of the Great Barrier Reef. The Kingdom was dissolved on 17 November 2017 following the 'Yes' vote in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey legalising same-sex marriage.

Map of the Coral Sea Islands Territory

There are about 30 separate reefs and atolls, twelve being wholly submerged or drying only during low tide, and 18 others with a total of about 51 islets and cays (18 alone on the atoll Lihou Reef), some of which are vegetated. The atolls exhibit a wide range of size, from a few kilometres in diameter to perhaps the second largest atoll in the world by total area (including lagoon): Lihou Reef, with a lagoon size of 100 by 30 kilometres (62 by 19 miles) and an area of 2,500 square kilometres (970 square miles), which compares to a combined land area of the 18 individual islets of only 0.91 square kilometres (0.35 square miles). The islands are all very low.

The Willis Islets are important nesting areas for birds and turtles but contain negligible natural resources. They comprise less than three square kilometres (1.2 square miles) of land. There is no port or harbour, only offshore anchorage.

Most of the atolls fall into two groups, while Mellish Reef to the east, and Middleton Reef and Elizabeth Reef to the south are grouped separately:

Northwestern Group

1. Osprey Reef (submerged atoll roughly oval in shape, measuring 25 by 12 kilometres (15.5 by 7.5 miles), covering around 195 square kilometres (75 square miles), with lagoon up to 30 metres (98 feet) deep)
2. Shark Reef (small elongated submerged reef 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) south of Osprey Reef, with a minimum depth of 7.8 metres (25.6 feet))
3. Bougainville Reef (small submerged atoll, 2.5 by 4 kilometres (1.6 by 2.5 miles), area 8 square kilometres (3.1 square miles) with lagoon, dries at half tide)
4. East Holmes Reef (submerged atoll, about 14 by 10 kilometres (8.7 by 6.2 miles), area 125 square kilometres (48 square miles) with lagoon)
5. West Holmes Reef (submerged atoll 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) east of East Holmes Reef, about 18 by 7 kilometres (11.2 by 4.3 miles), area 125 square kilometres (48 square miles) with lagoon that is open on the West side, two small cays)
6. Flora Reef (small submerged atoll, 5 by 4 km, about 12 square kilometres (4.6 square miles))
7. Diane Bank (sunken atoll, depths of less than 10 m over an area of 65 by 25 km, or 1,300 square kilometres (500 square miles), along the northern edge 3 m deep, with Sand Cay in the Northwest, 3 m high)
8. North Moore Reef (small submerged atoll, 4 by 3 km, area 8 square kilometres (3.1 square miles) including lagoon that is open on the Northwest side)
9. South Moore Reef (small submerged reef 5 km South of North Moore Reef)
10. Willis Islets (sunken atoll, bank 45 by 19 km, bank area more than 500 square kilometres (190 square miles), 3 islets on the Northwestern side: North Cay, Mid Islet almost 8 m high, South Islet or Willis Island 10 m high)
11. Magdelaine Cays & Coringa Islets (one large, partially sunken atoll structure, almost 90 by 30 km, bank area about 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles)), 2 islets of the Magdelaine Cays in the North: North West Islet (area approximately 0.2 square kilometres (0.1 square miles)) and South East Cay (area 0.37 square kilometres (0.14 square miles)); 2 islets of the Coringa Islets 50 to 60 km further Southwest: Southwest Islet or Coringa Islet (area 0.173 km²), and Chilcott Islet (area 0.163 km²)
12. Herald Cays, Northeast Cay (encircled by a reef of 3 by 3 km, total area 6 km², land area 0.34 km²)
13. Herald Cays, Southwest Cay (4 km Southwest of Northeast Cay, encircled by a reef of 2 by 2 km, total area 3 km², land area 0.188 km²)
14. Lihou Reef and Cays (largest atoll in the coral sea, with a size of 2500 km², land area 0.91 km²)
15. Diamond Islets & Tregosse Reefs (large, partially sunken atoll, 100 by 52 km, area of the bank over 3000 km², with 4 islets and 2 small submerged reefs in the Northeast and Southeast: West Diamond Islet, Central Diamond Islet, East Diamond Islet on the Northeastern rim of the former atoll, and South Diamond Islet, East Tregosse Reef and West Tregosse Reef on the Southern rim)
16. North Flinders Reef (large atoll, 34 by 23 km, area 600 km², with 2 islets, Flinders Cay being the larger one with a length of 200 m and a height of 3 m)
17. South Flinders Reef (atoll, 15 by 5 km, 60 km²)
18. Herald's Surprise (small submerged reef North of Flinders Reefs, 3 by 2 km)
19. Dart Reef (small submerged reef Northwest of Flinders Reefs, 3 by 3 km, area 6 km² including small lagoon that is open to the North)
20. Malay Reef (small submerged reef, not clearly defined, no breakers, difficult to see)
21. Abington Reef (submerged reef, nearly awash, 4 by 2.5 km, area 7 km²)
22. Marion Reef (large circular atoll formation that is composed of three main units located on the Eastern side: Marion, Long and Wansfell; and a number of smaller reefs on the west. The formation sits atop a submarine feature known as the Marion Plateau which is separated from the larger Coral Sea Plateau to the north by the Townsville Trough. Three small sand cays are located on the eastern side of Marion Reef: Paget Cay, on Long Reef, Carola Cay, south of Long Reef, and Brodie Cay, on Wansfell Reef.

A pair of Grey Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) and divers in blue water. North Horn, Coral Sea Islands

The atolls of the Northwestern Group, except Osprey Reef and Shark Reef in the north, and Marion Reef in the south, are located on the Coral Sea Plateau (Queensland Plateau), a contiguous area of depths less than 1000 m.

• Flinders Reefs (North and South), Herald's Surprise and Dart Reef form a cluster of reefs of 66 by 26 km.
• Magdelaine Cays, Coringa Islets and Herald Cays are part of the 8856 km² Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, created on 16 August 1982 and located around 400 km east of Cairns and 220 to 320 km from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The 6 islets of the nature reserve have areas from 0.16 to 0.37 km², for a total of 1.24 km².
• Lihou Reef was declared a Nature Reserve on 16 August 1982, with an area of 8440 km².

The Nature Reserves were created to protect wildlife in the respective areas of the territory; together they form the Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site.

Mellish Reef

Beacon erected on Mellish Reef in the Coral Sea in 1859

1. Mellish Reef, being about 300 km to the east of the Northwestern Group, thus the most distant from the Australian continent of all the reefs and atolls of the Coral Sea Islands Territory, is not considered to be part of any group. It has the outline of a boomerang-shaped platform around 10 km in length and 3 km across, area 25 km². The surrounding reefs, which enclose a narrow lagoon, are completely submerged at high tide. Near the centre of the lagoon is the only permanent land of the reef - Heralds-Beacon Islet. The island is a small cay measuring 600 m by 120 m, area 57,000 m2, only rising a few ms above the high-water mark.^[9] The reef was discovered and named by Captain Alexander Bristow in the whaling ship Thames on 5 April 1812. The French aviso Duroc wrecked on the reef on 16 August 1856. HMS Herald erected the first beacon on the cay, using wreckage from Duroc.

Southeasterly Group

1. Frederick Reefs: The reefs form a semi-enclosed lagoon, known as Anchorage Sound, with an opening on the North side. The complex measures about 10 by 4 km, with an area of 30 km². On the southern side of the reef lies Observatory Cay, the only permanently dry land, although there are a few of others cays that can be awash at high tide.
2. Kenn Reefs, submerged atoll of about 15 by 8 km, area 40 km², islet Observatory Cay in the Southeast, 2 m high
3. Saumarez Reefs, southernmost reefs to be located on the Coral Sea Shelf; three main reefs and numerous smaller reefs that form a large crescent-shaped formation open to the northwest, about 27 by 14 km, area less than 300 km². There are two sand cays: North East Cay and South West Cay.
4. Wreck Reefs: atoll 25 by 5 km, area 75 km², open on the North. Islets found on the reefs include Bird Islet, West Islet and Porpoise Cay.
5. Cato Reef: Cato bank 21 by 13 km, area 200 km² of depths less than 17 m; Cato Reef encircles an area of 3.3 by 1.8 km, area 5 km² including lagoon; Cato Island, in the West of the lagoon, 650 by 300 m, area 0.15 km², 6 m high. Close to the Southeast corner of Cato bank is Hutchison Rock, with 1 m depth over. Cato Island is the highest point in the Territory and a camp site on the Island called Heaven is the home of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.

Extreme South

Elizabeth and Middleton reefs, together with reefs around Lord Howe Island (New South Wales) 150 km to the south, are regarded as the southernmost coral reefs in the world. Their location, where tropical and temperate ocean currents meet, contributes to an unusually diverse assemblage of marine species. These mostly submerged atolls which dry only during low tide were added to the territory only in 1989. They are located on the Lord Howe Rise. Already on 23 December 1987, they were protected as the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve, which has an area of 1,880 km².

1. Elizabeth Reef, atoll about 8.2 km by 5.5 km, area 51 km² including lagoon, one islet: Elizabeth Island (Elizabeth Cay), no vegetation, 600 m by 400 m (area 0.2 km²), highest point 0.8 m. At low tides, much of the reef flat is exposed.
2. Middleton Reef, atoll about 8.9 km by 6.3 km, area 37 km² including lagoon, one islet: The Sound, 100 m by 70 m (area 5,000 m²), highest point 1.5 m (close to the northern end). At low tides, much of the reef flat is exposed.

Overview of islets and cays

A male Bicolor Parrotfish is at home on North Horn, Osprey Reef

Discover more about Geography related topics

Reef

Reef

A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave erosion planing down rock outcrops. However, reefs such as the coral reefs of tropical waters are formed by biotic (living) processes, dominated by corals and coralline algae. Artificial reefs such as shipwrecks and other man-made underwater structures may occur intentionally or as the result of an accident, and are sometimes designed to increase the physical complexity of featureless sand bottoms to attract a more diverse range of organisms. Reefs are often quite near to the surface, but not all definitions require this.

Atoll

Atoll

An atoll is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can grow. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean.

Cay

Cay

A cay, also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef.

Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve

Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve

Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve is a former marine protected area covering an area of 8440 km2 in the Australian Coral Sea Islands Territory that was incorporated into the new Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve in December 2012. Together with the Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, from which it is separated by about 100 km of open ocean, it forms the Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site, designated on 16 August 2002, listing it under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance.

Lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into coastal lagoons and atoll lagoons. They have also been identified as occurring on mixed-sand and gravel coastlines. There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries. Lagoons are common coastal features around many parts of the world.

Osprey Reef

Osprey Reef

Osprey Reef is a submerged atoll in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Northwestern Group of the Coral Sea Islands. Osprey Reef is roughly oval in shape, measuring 25 by 12 kilometres, and covers around 195 square kilometres (75 sq mi). It has a perimeter of 69.5 kilometres (43.2 mi). The central lagoon is only 30 metres (98 ft) deep.

Flinders Reef (Coral Sea)

Flinders Reef (Coral Sea)

Flinders Reef or Flinders Reefs is an isolated oceanic coral reef in the Coral Sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It lies east of Australia and the extensive Great Barrier Reef. Due to its remote location, it remains poorly studied. However, this isolation has also made it a potential site to mark the beginning of the Anthropocene.

Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve

Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve

Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve is a former nature reserve in Australia’s Coral Sea Islands Territory that was incorporated into the new Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve in December 2012. The former nature reserve together with the Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve is part of the Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site. Its extent is also within the Coringa-Herald Reefs Important Bird Area.

Cairns

Cairns

Cairns is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland, and 15th in Australia.

Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site

Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site

The Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site comprises the 17,289 km2 of oceanic island and reef habitats within the former Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve and the former Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve in the Australian Coral Sea Islands Territory.

HMS Herald (1824)

HMS Herald (1824)

HMS Herald was an Atholl-class 28-gun sixth-rate corvette of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1822 as HMS Termagant, commissioned in 1824 as HMS Herald and converted to a survey ship in 1845. After serving as a chapel ship from 1861, she was sold for breaking in 1862.

Frederick Reefs

Frederick Reefs

Frederick Reef is in the Coral Sea Islands, over 220 nautical miles (410 km) northeast of Gladstone, Queensland. The reef gets its name from Frederick, which first reported sighting the reef.

Automatic, unmanned weather stations are located on the following reefs or atolls:

• Bougainville Reef
• Cato Island
• Flinders Reef (Flinders Coral Cay)
• Frederick Reef
• Holmes Reef
• Lihou Reef (Turtle Islet)
• Marion Reef
• Moore Reef

Lighthouses are located on following reefs or islands:

• Bougainville Reef
• East Diamond Islet
• Frederick Reefs
• Lihou Reef
• Saumarez Reef

Willis Island, the only inhabited island, has a number of structures.