Monkey Mia
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Monkey Mia is located on the eastern shore of Peron Peninsula, 800 kilometres north of Perth, and 420km from Geraldton.
The area is located on a section of world heritage coastline near the town of Denham. The main attraction is the daily feeding of the bottlenose dolphins that have come close to shore for over forty years.
Commencing in the early 1964, a pod of bottlenose dolphins began participating in what has since become a daily ritual, when several dolphins swim close to the shore to interact with humans. Because the dolphins are wild, the numbers and the timing of their visits varies. The visits usually occur several times each day, most frequently during the mornings.
Since 1982 extensive behavioral and biological research has been conducted into the bottlenose dolphins by the Dolphin Research Project. Hundreds of Shark Bay dolphins have been studied by scientists from prestigious institutions in Australia, North America and Europe.
Regular flights to the Monkey Mia airport are available from Perth, plus some flights are also available from Geraldton. The flights from Geraldton take about 90 minutes, while the flights from Perth take two and a half hours.
Located at nearby Hamelin Pool to the south of Monkey Mia, a large group of the world's oldest organisms - stromatolites can be observed. Each of these structures is created by primitive life forms that first existed on earth approximately 3.5 billion years ago, and which over millions of years created the earth's oxygen rich atmosphere that supports more advanced life forms. The dome shaped structures are up to 60cm high and are formed by the ativities of millions of single celled organisms called cyanobacteria.
The stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, are created by the activities of the earliest form of known life, and provide an insight into the evolutionary history of the earth. The stromatolites can be observed from an educational boardwalk.
Hypersalination, which is a level of salt twice that of normal seawater, is caused by the low tidal flow in this section of Shark Bay trapping water in the pool, much of which then evaporates leaving behind salt which makes the remaining water increasingly saline. In these highly saline pools, stromatolites grow at a rate of less than 1mm per year. It is however, this highly saline environment that has enabled the stromatolites to survive for such long periods by excluding other forms of life that would have damaged and possibly destroyed the stromatolites.
Stromatolites are formed when the microorganism, cyanobacteria build up, traps fine sediment particles from the warm water and binds the particles together with mucus.
The area is located on a section of world heritage coastline near the town of Denham. The main attraction is the daily feeding of the bottlenose dolphins that have come close to shore for over forty years.
Commencing in the early 1964, a pod of bottlenose dolphins began participating in what has since become a daily ritual, when several dolphins swim close to the shore to interact with humans. Because the dolphins are wild, the numbers and the timing of their visits varies. The visits usually occur several times each day, most frequently during the mornings.
Since 1982 extensive behavioral and biological research has been conducted into the bottlenose dolphins by the Dolphin Research Project. Hundreds of Shark Bay dolphins have been studied by scientists from prestigious institutions in Australia, North America and Europe.
Regular flights to the Monkey Mia airport are available from Perth, plus some flights are also available from Geraldton. The flights from Geraldton take about 90 minutes, while the flights from Perth take two and a half hours.
Located at nearby Hamelin Pool to the south of Monkey Mia, a large group of the world's oldest organisms - stromatolites can be observed. Each of these structures is created by primitive life forms that first existed on earth approximately 3.5 billion years ago, and which over millions of years created the earth's oxygen rich atmosphere that supports more advanced life forms. The dome shaped structures are up to 60cm high and are formed by the ativities of millions of single celled organisms called cyanobacteria.
The stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, are created by the activities of the earliest form of known life, and provide an insight into the evolutionary history of the earth. The stromatolites can be observed from an educational boardwalk.
Hypersalination, which is a level of salt twice that of normal seawater, is caused by the low tidal flow in this section of Shark Bay trapping water in the pool, much of which then evaporates leaving behind salt which makes the remaining water increasingly saline. In these highly saline pools, stromatolites grow at a rate of less than 1mm per year. It is however, this highly saline environment that has enabled the stromatolites to survive for such long periods by excluding other forms of life that would have damaged and possibly destroyed the stromatolites.
Stromatolites are formed when the microorganism, cyanobacteria build up, traps fine sediment particles from the warm water and binds the particles together with mucus.
Connections to the National Broadband Network are not due to be available in Monkey Mia until after 2015. Learn more.
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Monkey Mia sunrise. Photograph © Peter Connolly. Courtesy of Panoramio
Dolphin Encounter
Video © ColinEwington. Courtesy of YouTube.
Find jobs in Monkey Mia.
Monkey Mia sunrise. Photograph © Peter Connolly. Courtesy of Panoramio
Dolphin Encounter
Video © ColinEwington. Courtesy of YouTube.