A strait is a water body connecting two seas or two water basins. While the landform generally constricts the flow, the surface water still flows, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in both directions. In some straits there may be a dominant directional current through the strait. Most commonly, it is a narrowing channel that lies between two land masses . Some straits are not navigable, for example because they are either too narrow or too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago . Straits are also known to be loci for sediment accumulation. Usually, sand-size deposits occur on both the two opposite strait exits, forming subaqueous fans or deltas .
21-583: The Great Sandy Strait is a strait in the Australian state of Queensland of 70 kilometres (43 mi) length which separates mainland Queensland from K'gari . It is also a locality in the Fraser Coast Region local government area. To the north of the strait is Hervey Bay . In the 2021 census , Great Sandy Strait had "no people or a very low population". The Great Sandy Strait extends south from Hervey Bay to Inskip Point . The Mary River enters
42-415: Is a coastal national park in the Fraser Coast Region , Queensland , Australia. The park features untouched beaches , large sand dunes , heathlands , rainforests , swamps , creeks , freshwater lakes and mangrove forests . Great Sandy National Park is divided into two sections. The Cooloola Recreation Area section is situated on the coast between Noosa Heads in the south and Rainbow Beach in
63-484: Is also an important roosting site for CAMBA and JAMBA listed species. Some 806 km of the strait has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it supports about 120,000 non-breeding waders, including over 1% of the global populations of bar-tailed godwits , eastern curlews , great knots , grey-tailed tattlers , lesser sand plovers , pied oystercatchers , red-necked stints and red-capped plovers , as well as small numbers of
84-650: Is also home to the eastern ground parrot and has one of the last coastal populations of the emu . The Cooloola section contains the Cooloola Great Walk , a five-day hiking trail. Boat tours and canoeing along the Noosa River are popular visitor activities. On Fraser Island is the 90 km long Fraser Island Great Walk . Lake Cootharaba offers fishing, sailing, and canoeing opportunities. Whale watching , fishing, four-wheel driving, and bushwalking are also popular. The park also features two shipwrecks ;
105-401: Is typically reserved for much larger, wider features of the marine environment. There are exceptions, with straits being called canals; Pearse Canal , for example. Straits are the converse of isthmuses . That is, while a strait lies between two land masses and connects two large areas of ocean, an isthmus lies between two areas of ocean and connects two large land masses. Some straits have
126-513: The SS Maheno and the Cherry Venture . The only place in the world where tall rainforest grows in sand is on K'Gari (formerly known as Fraser Island). The sand island has coloured sand cliffs on its eastern beach and numerous walking tracks from short boardwalks to longer walks, which cross sand blows . K'Gari also has more than 100 freshwater lakes including the largest perched lake in
147-462: The Suez Canal . Although rivers and canals often provide passage between two large lakes, and these seem to suit the formal definition of strait, they are not usually referred to as such. Rivers and often canals, generally have a directional flow tied to changes in elevation, whereas straits often are free flowing in either direction or switch direction, maintaining the same elevation. The term strait
168-547: The Breaksea Spit. In the 2016 census , Great Sandy Strait had a population of 4 people. In the 2021 census , Great Sandy Strait had "no people or a very low population". Tourism and commercial fishing are the two main industries that are active within the Strait. Boating and fishing are also pursued for recreation. A complex landscape of mangroves , sandbanks , intertidal sand, mud islands, salt marshes and seagrass beds,
189-481: The Strait is an important habitat for breeding fish , crustaceans , dugongs , dolphins and marine turtles . Migrating humpback whales use the calms waters of the strait to rest for a few days between July and November. An analysis of commercial catch data in the area between 1988 and 2003 revealed a significant reduction in fish stock . The campaign against the Traveston Crossing Dam included claims
210-733: The coast from Moreton Bay to Hervey Bay in the Norfolk . Although he established that K'gari was not a peninsula (as was then believed) but an island, he failed to find a navigable channel through the Great Sandy Strait. His explorations of the area is commemorated by a monument called Matthew Flinders Lookout at the top of an escarpment facing the bay in Dayman Park, Urangan ( 25°17′21″S 152°54′29″E / 25.2893°S 152.9080°E / -25.2893; 152.9080 ( Matthew Flinder's Lookout ) ). Lieutenant Joseph Dayman
231-580: The dam would have a significant environmental impact on the Great Sandy Strait. It is located within the boundaries of the Great Sandy Marine Park and adjoins other protected areas within or adjacent to the Strait include Great Sandy National Park , Poona National Park and Great Sandy Conservation Park . The lower part of Great Sandy Strait was listed under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international significance in 1999. The area
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#1732872601075252-496: The island are low and sandy in character. Only a few have significant elevations, e.g. Big Woody Island rises to 50 metres (160 ft) above sea level. Although most of the islands are uninhabitable, there is a small area of residential development on the north-west of Stewart Island ( 25°36′58″S 152°57′13″E / 25.6161°S 152.9536°E / -25.6161; 152.9536 ( Stewart Island housing ) ). In July and August 1799 Matthew Flinders chartered
273-520: The land. Access to Fraser Island ideally requires a high-clearance 4WD vehicle. Parts of the Cooloola section are also inaccessible without a four-wheel drive. Vehicles entering the park need to obtain a vehicle permit for both Fraser Island and the Cooloola Recreational Area. Both sections have numerous camping areas. Permits are required to camp in the park. About 15 camp sites are in
294-598: The north and covers 184,000 hectares (450,000 acres). The K'Gari section (formerly known as Fraser Island) encompasses almost all of the world's largest sand island , which is situated north of Rainbow Beach, covering 56,000 hectares (140,000 acres). The land within the park is classified by BirdLife International as the Cooloola and Fraser Coast Important Bird Area because it supports a large population of black-breasted buttonquails as well as many bush and beach stone-curlews , green catbirds , regent bowerbirds , mangrove honeyeaters , and pale-yellow robins . Cooloola
315-466: The potential to generate significant tidal power using tidal stream turbines . Tides are more predictable than wave power or wind power . The Pentland Firth (a strait) may be capable of generating 10 GW . Cook Strait in New Zealand may be capable of generating 5.6 GW even though the total energy available in the flow is 15 GW. Straits used for international navigation through
336-850: The range-restricted mangrove honeyeater . Each year in June the Bay to Bay yacht race is sailed on the Great Sandy Strait. It is run by the Hervey Bay Sailing Club. Strait The terms channel , pass , or passage can be synonymous and used interchangeably with strait , although each is sometimes differentiated with varying senses. In Scotland, firth or Kyle are also sometimes used as synonyms for strait. Many straits are economically important. Straits can be important shipping routes and wars have been fought for control of them. Numerous artificial channels, called canals , have been constructed to connect two oceans or seas over land, such as
357-583: The strait at River Heads . It covers an area of 932 square kilometres (360 sq mi). The southern entrance to the strait is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide. There are numerous named and unnamed islands in the strait. The named island are from north to south: Big Woody Island, Round Island, Little Woody Island, Picnic Island, Duck Island, Walsh Island, Turkey Island, Bookar Island, Thomas Island, Slain Island, Tooth Island, Round Bush Island, New Island, Garden Island, Dream Island, and Stewart Island. Most of
378-423: The territorial sea between one part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone are subject to the legal regime of transit passage ( Strait of Gibraltar , Dover Strait , Strait of Hormuz ). The regime of innocent passage applies in straits used for international navigation (1) that connect a part of high seas or an exclusive economic zone with
399-634: The territorial sea of a coastal nation ( Straits of Tiran , Strait of Juan de Fuca , Strait of Baltiysk ) and (2) in straits formed by an island of a state bordering the strait and its mainland if there exists seaward of the island a route through the high seas or through an exclusive economic zone of similar convenience with respect to navigational and hydrographical characteristics ( Strait of Messina , Pentland Firth ). There may be no suspension of innocent passage through such straits. [REDACTED] Media related to Straits at Wikimedia Commons Great Sandy National Park Great Sandy National Park
420-421: The world, Lake Boomanjin . Lake Wabby is a popular swimming and fishing spot. A unique feature of Great Sandy National Park is the coloured sands, which are formed by old sand mixed with clay into a consolidated mass. The visible hues include red, brown, and yellow, which are a reflection of the iron-rich minerals embedded in the sands for thousands of years and brought to the surface by wind and water eroding
441-448: Was the first European to navigate through the Great Sandy Strait on 10 November 1846 in a small decked boat called the Asp . It had been intended that Dayman rendezvous with HMS Rattlesnake but that ship had already departed. Dayman decided it was safer to take the Asp through the Great Sandy Strait rather than risk taking the route to the ocean side of K'gari as he was concerned about rounding
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