September 4th, 2009 Category: Image of the day

The Torres Strait, separating Australia’s Cape York Peninsula from New Guinea, contains at least 274 small islands, most of which are part of Queensland, Australia.

The islands can be divided into several different groups. Here, the Near Western Islands can be seen at the top center. The islands in this cluster lie south of the strait’s midway point, and are also largely high granite hills with mounds of basaltic outcrops, formed from old peaks of the now submerged land bridge.

This group includes Moa (Banks Island), the second-largest island in the Torres Strait, and Badu (Mulgrave Island), which is slightly smaller and fringed with extensive mangrove swamps.

Moving southward, the Inner Islands (or the Thursday Island group), lie closest to Cape York Peninsula, and their topography and geological history is very similar. Muralag (Prince of Wales Island) is the largest of the strait’s islands, and forms the centre of this closely grouped cluster.

Tags: Australia Badu Banks Island Cape York Peninsula Inner Islands Moa Mulgrave Island Muralag Near Western Islands Prince of Wales Island Queensland Thursday Island Group Torres Strait Torres Strait Islands | Comments |

May 23rd, 2009 Category: Image of the day, Rivers

EOSnap celebrates its 1000th post with this sharp and brightly colored image of the Great Barrier Reef along the Cape York Peninsula, in Queensland, Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 3,000 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi).

The first two close-ups focus on the coral reef on the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula.  One detail is of the Princess Charlotte Bay, a part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which is a habitat for dugong. The Normanby, Bizant, North Kennedy, and Morehead rivers all terminate in this bay.

The central close-up portrays the northernmost tip of the Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait and islands above it.

The final two close-ups focus on the western coast of the peninsula, which is not part of the Great Barrier Reef. Instead, the coast is fringed by tan sediments, which fade into a yellow-green hue as they mix with the waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria. One close-up includes Mission River (top). The red patches near the river are bare areas of earth, used for mining or construction.

The other detail shows the Mitchell River, which has the state’s largest discharge, particularly when pulsing with monsoonal rains, though it is intermittent and may be dry for part of the year. The last time EOSnap observed this area, the terrain was dark green due to vegetational growth during times of flooding. Now, the terrain appears drier and browner in color.

Tags: Australia Bizant River Cape York Peninsula Coral Reef Great Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Mission River Mitchell River Morehead River Normanby River North Kennedy River Princess Charlotte Bay Queensland Sediments Torres Strait | Comments |