Australia

Shark Bay

WHS Score 3.58
rate
Votes 21 Average 4.1
Show votes
Votes for Shark Bay

3.0

  • Shandos Cleaver

3.5

  • fkarpfinger
  • Kurt Lauer
  • Pang Liang Fong
  • Zoë Sheng

4.0

  • Alexander Parsons
  • ChrisN
  • Gary Arndt
  • Jarrod_Byham
  • Mihai Dascalu
  • PabloNorte
  • Piotr Wasil
  • Twobaconsandaboston
  • Wieland
  • Wo_ko

4.5

  • tony0001
  • Tschibi

5.0

  • Deffra
  • Michiel Dekker
  • Nicole Lampos
  • Tamara Ratz

Shark Bay, Western Australia, covers a large, mostly marine area that is renowned for its presence of stromatolites and the largest seagrass bank in the world.

Its marine waters are hypersaline. Hamelin Pool has the most diverse and abundant examples of stromatolites in the world, while the Wooramel Seagrass Bank has the most seagrass species recorded from one area. The site is also of major zoological importance, being home to about 11,000 dugongs and many dolphins and whales.

Community Perspective: According to Zoë, it’s not an easy site to come to grips with, unless you are satisfied with seeing dolphins at Monkey Mia.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Shark Bay, Western Australia (ID: 578)
Country
Australia
Status
Inscribed 1991 Site history
History of Shark Bay
1991: Inscribed
Inscribed
Type
Natural
Criteria
  • vii
  • viii
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
Official
All Links
UNESCO.org
Official Website
News Article
  • Aug. 26, 2023 abc.net.au — UNESCO to write to WA government over fears tourists trampling Hamelin Pool's stromatolites
  • June 1, 2022 abc.net.au — World's largest plant discovered
  • June 3, 2020 abc.net.au — Shark Bay traditional owners fear for lost ancient sites, but grant offers hope
  • Feb. 8, 2019 theconversation.com — Shark Bay: A World Heritage Site at catastrophic risk
  • Nov. 19, 2011 perthnow.com.au — Flooding threatens Shark Bay heritage-listed stromatolites
  • Nov. 21, 2007 news.com.au — Baby dolphin born at Monkey Mia, part of the World Heritage-listed Shark Bay area

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Marine and Coastal
Recent Connections
View all (22) .
Connections of Shark Bay
Geography
History
  • Castaways or shipwrecked mariners
    In 1841 the Pers?v?rant, a French whaler, was wrecked on Dirk Hartog Island "The 25-man crew struggled to Cape Levillain, on the northern tip of the island, where they camped in the sandhills for ten weeks. Five men died of scurvy and are buried on the island, but the others sailed four whale boats on a treacherous ? and to some, fatal ? journey to Indonesia. Archaeologists have discovered brass buttons, glass, ceramics, clay pipes and other artefacts at this camp site."
Ecology
  • Whales
    humpback whales
  • Turtles and tortoises

    Loggerhead turtle nest on the beaches

  • Living Stromatolites
    one of only two places in the world (the other being the Bahamas) with living marine stromatolites

    See www.sharkbay.org

  • Siraneans
    Dugongs
  • Ratites
    emu
  • Oceanic Dolphins

    “a famous population of Bottlenose Dolphin lives in the Bay (OUV)” : IndoPacific Bottlenose and Orca (UNEP-WCMC)

  • Salt Flats
    The inland terrestrial landscape of Shark Bay is predominantly one of low rolling hills interspersed with birridas (inland saltpans that are at sea-level)
  • Lagoons
    Shark Bay's "attractions are also supplemented by secondary features such as Shell Beach, Big Lagoon and the Zuytdorp Cliffs which combine to add even further interest to the area"
  • Living Fossils
    Stromatolite

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Fish
    Crit X: Large numbers of sharks and rays are readily observed, including the Manta Ray which is now considered globally threatened.
  • Seagrass beds
    "Wooramel Seagrass Bank within Shark Bay, one of the largest seagrass meadows in the world with the most seagrass species recorded from one area" (crit vii)
  • Gypsum
    "Scattered around Shark Bay, especially within Peron Peninsula inside the Francois Peron National Park, are several saline lakes of gypsum, known locally as birridas." (see link)

    See www.amusingplanet.com

  • Sharks
    "Large numbers of sharks and rays are readily observed" (OUV), "There are at least 28 shark species in Shark Bay. The most impressive is the Tiger Shark or "thaaka" in Malgana language. The most common to spot is the Nervous Shark, a small shark that gets its name due to its timid nature." Also has banded wobbegong.

    See www.sharkbayvisit.com.au

  • Critically endangered fauna species
    Great hammerhead

    See www.sharkbay.org

World Heritage Process
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Holocene
    Later, a rise in sea levels during the Holocene epoch (the most recent 10,000 years) flooded the region and created Shark Bay's unique double-basin form.

    See sharkbay.org

News
abc.net.au 08/26/2023
UNESCO to write to WA government o…
abc.net.au 06/01/2022
World's largest plant discovered
abc.net.au 06/03/2020
Shark Bay traditional owners fear …

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 21/01/22.

Zoë Sheng

Shark Bay

Shark Bay (Inscribed)

Shark Bay by Zoë Sheng

If you got the money you can fly directly into Shark Bay, stay at Monkey Mia and see the dolphins. Check. However, the dolphins are the worst part of Shark Bay and only keeps mainstream tourists coming. Most of Shark Bay is hard to get to though, with off-limit islands and a strictly protected marine park. So it's not easy to appreciate this area. You can go to the lovely heritage museum for tons of info on the area: why it's UNESCO, what kind of unique things there are to see, and there is also a small cinema to watch a movie but I didn't stick around for that. I was also the only person in the museum the entire so I guess this place isn't so popular around non-holiday periods.

I actually drove up from Perth and combined this with several sites on the coast, including Ningaloo Coast further up north. I remember trying to fly to Exmouth and drive form there but the mileages was so limited, not unusual for smaller town rentals around Australia including Darwin, that it wasn't going to work out. The drive up from Perth is quite long.

As I was purposely avoiding the dolphin encounter I had to do with just stopping at the coast sites and look around. No mammals or birds in sight. My rating for the site is thus a little lower than it probably is worth because on paper this place sounds great, with tons of animals …

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First published: 01/05/05.

Anonymous

Shark Bay

Shark Bay (Inscribed)

Shark Bay by Shandos Cleaver

Travelled to Shark Bay on a 4WD backpackers tour up the west coast of Western Australia from Perth to Coral Bay in April 2002.

The most publicised aspect of Shark Bay is the Dolphin feeding at Monkey Mia however I found it personally dissapointing. The half hour "show" involves three rather domesticated dolphins. Much rather see dolphins in the wild.

Some of the coastline contrasts dry red and ochre cliffs with turquoise blue waters.

A good place to stay is at the camping ground at Nanga on the freycinet Peninsula.

Keep reading 0 comments