Gulf of Carpentaria: description, location, photo

Where is the Gulf of Carpentaria and what are its features? It is this topic that I would like to touch on in this article. Let's start from the beginning.

What is this water area? It is not a very deep gulf of the Indian Ocean. Its area covers an area of about 300 thousand square meters. Km. Where is the Gulf of Carpentaria? And it is located near the northern coast of Australia. It deepens into the mainland for more than 600 km. The bay is connected with the Arafura Sea. Also through the Torresova Strait has access to the Coral Sea.

Characteristic

The first thing to note: this water area refers to the mainland Australia. The Gulf of Carpentaria occupies an area of about 328 thousand square meters. Km. Its shelf has a length of 900 km. In the Australian mainland it cuts almost 700 km. As we have already said, the bay is relatively shallow, the average values reach 40-60 m. The deepest zone has a mark of about 70 m.

The tides in the Carpentaria are of an incorrect nature, they are semi-diurnal. Their height varies within 3-4 meters. On the coastline of the bay there are significant tidal currents. Islands of water area: Wellesley and Groote Island, seaports: Waipa, Groote Island, Target.

Hydrological and climatic regimes

Given that the Gulf of Carpentaria is in the Indian Sea, the climate is monsoon, with tropical rains. As a rule, most of the precipitation falls on the interval from December to March. The weather here is mostly sultry and damp. During the rainy season, the main water flow enters the bay from the rivers of the southern and eastern coasts. Salinity at the end of the dry season is higher, after it decreases (34.8 ‰).

The dry season lasts from April to November. During this period dry south-eastern and eastern air currents predominate. The rainy season opens in December, it continues until March. Characterized by the fact that during this period the lowlands are filled. Tropical typhoons last from November to April. Observed on average 3 times a year. The average water temperature in summer is +29 ^о C, in winter - +24 ^о С. The precipitation is 1570 mm. Relative humidity in the dry season is 30%, in the rainy season - 70%.

Fauna

Representatives of low-organized mammals, marsupials and one-pass mice are important for the fauna of this region. The latter are the platypus and echidna. In Australia there are more than 150 marsupial breeds in general. Among them today are predatory species, marsupial bears and moles, kangaroo. Higher mammals are represented as bats and some types of terrestrial mice.

The Gulf of Carpentaria is an excellent place for the dwelling of many birds, reptiles and reptiles. Of birds known: lyrebird, cassowary, birds of paradise, parrots. Of reptiles, a significant population of crocodiles, tree frogs, poisonous snakes, lizards. Here lives the lizard moloch, which has spike-shaped outgrowths, absorbing moisture, which helps it survive the drought.

Wet forests are characterized by species of climbing individuals, such as koala. The platypus lives along the rivers. In the rainforest you can meet arthropods: endemic ants, butterflies. In the north live earthworms, the length of which reaches several meters. On the rivers live waterfowl. Only here it is possible to meet such ancient forms of ichthyofauna as the fish of the stump. In areas with an abundance of grass, there are several species of marsupials, for example, kangaroo wallaby. Local echidna is also considered a local endemic. Of the harmful insects are common locusts, mosquitoes, mosquitoes.

Flora

The Gulf of Carpentaria along the coastline is not deprived of vegetation. Here there are mainly dry-loving species: cereals, eucalyptus, umbrella acacia, representatives with a special tissue for water supply, such as a bottle tree. Also grows southern beech, ficus, pandanus. Thanks to the north-western monsoons, which bring moisture, this territory is covered with tropical forests with giant eucalyptus, ficus, palms. Mangrove vegetation is found on the flat and silt coasts. To the south, the forest cover is gradually decreasing. Here grow horsetails and ferns, whose height reaches 20 meters. Many European cultures were brought here, which perfectly adapted: grapes, cotton. From cereals perfectly grow wheat, oats, rice, corn, as well as vegetables and fruits.

Economy

Supplies of manganese on the island of Grunt Island constitute a quarter of the world's fishery. Here there are rich copies of lead, silver. The MacArthur zinc deposits are respectable on a world scale. Bauxite is famous for the settlement of Wapa. In the sphere of agriculture, cattle breeding is quite developed. A developed industrial branch is fish production.

The Gulf of Carpentaria is famous for resources of salmon, oyster fishing, shrimp fishery. At the stage of development there are passenger transportations, and in the field of sea cargo transportation the region is the leader. Tourists from all over the world come here for extreme tourism, including underwater fishing.

Memorable places

• On the peninsula of Arnhem Land is Kakadu Park, which is listed in the UNESCO Preserved Values.
• Do not lose the pristine beauty of tropical forests and savannah Cape York surprise visitors with its natural beauty.

Interesting events

From early September to October in the early morning hours, the Gulf of Carpentaria will be surprised by the natural miracle cloud "Morning Glory". The phenomenon is accompanied by gusts of wind and pressure jumps.

The Flinders River flows into the bay, which is named after the explorer of the continent.

Grunt-Island is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Here for a long time there live representatives of the tribe anindilyakva. It is allowed to stay on the island only with the permission of local authorities. To permit the extraction of manganese in copies, money must be paid. The local population of Grunt-Island has an amazing lexicon. There are no words or gestures for numbers above 20 in it.