Torres Strait: description, photo

The Torres River is one of the shallowest, occupying the second place in the list of similar ones. He shares the island of Papua New Guinea and Australia. On both sides (south and north) it connects the largest Pacific Ocean with the Indian Ocean. And in the direction of the west-east connects the Coral and the Arafura Sea with each other . Coordinates Torres Strait: 9 ° 52'49 "south latitude, 142 ° 35'26" east longitude. The geographical position of this water area can be seen on the map below.

Characteristic

Torres Strait is endowed with a large area, the width of its narrowest part, adjacent to the provincial peninsula of New Guinea called Cape York, reaches 150 km. The length of the water area is almost 75 km. In some places, the width between the opposite banks reaches 240 km. Where is the Torres Strait? Naturally, when it comes to such a continent as Australia, it immediately becomes clear that this water area needs to be found on the map of the Southern Hemisphere.

The bay was named after the famous Spanish navigator - Luis Vaes de Torres. The name was given in 1769. This happened after the geographer from Scotland, A. Dalrymple, read the reports on the expeditions.

Because the Torres Strait is shallow, and its waters hide massive coral reefs, it is incredibly dangerous for navigating ships.

The Islands

In the middle of the strait you can see numerous inhabited and uninhabited islands, which are diverse in nature of appearance, shape and size. There are more than 270 of them, and only 17 of them are inhabited. They received a consonant name - the islands of the Torres Strait. These land areas are subdivided into 4 types:

• Alluvial (which arose in the course of deposition of sedimentary rocks);
• Hilly (the heights of the islands are represented by granite);
• Coral (from petrified coral reefs);
• Volcanic (formed from thickened and petrified magma).

History of the island

For the first time the Torresov Strait was discovered by a navigator of Spanish origin Luis Vaes de Torres. This event occurred in 1605. About his discoveries, he mentioned in his diary and works. In 1769 the Scottish geographer fell into the hands of Torres, from where he learned of the existence of a certain coral strait, named after its discoverer. A year later, the eastern regions of Australia and the surrounding islands, including the islands of the Torres Strait, were annexed to Britain. And already in 1879 as part of Queensland the islands became a colony of Britain.

Population

The population of all islets does not exceed 10 thousand people. The indigenous people are the Melanesian people, and immigrants from New Guinea (Papuans) also settled down there. The most often used among the local population is the Creole language and dialects close to it.

Let's sum up the results

Rich flora and fauna, a variety of fish and beautiful views make the coral expanse, the surroundings and the Torres Strait itself special. The main and unforgettable sights of these places are natural picturesque landscapes and colorful branched corals in translucent water. This region for tourism is chosen by lovers of quiet rest and relaxation.