The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between
Bruny Island
Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman ...
and the south-east of the mainland of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Australia. The channel is the
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
for the estuaries of the
Derwent and the
Huon Rivers and empties into the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...
of the
South Pacific Ocean
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
. It was sighted by
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New ...
in 1642 and surveyed in 1792 by
Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.
Towns on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel include
Snug,
Margate
Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook.
The town has been a significan ...
,
Kettering
Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) ...
,
Woodbridge,
Flowerpot
A flowerpot, planter, planterette or plant pot, is a container in which flowers and other plants are cultivated and displayed. Historically, and still to a significant extent today, they are made from plain terracotta with no ceramic glaze, w ...
,
Middleton and
Gordon.
History
According to ''
The Mercury
Mercury most commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* ...
'' newspaper, the channel "..... was discovered on April 20, 1792, by the celebrated French "Vice-Admiral
Bruni D'Entrecasteaux, who, in the ships ''Recherche'' and ''Esperance'', was searching for ill-fated ''La Perouse''. Visiting Van Diemen's Land for the first time, he was attempting to find an anchorage in Adventure Bay, when, being himself ill in bed, the ships' navigators entered the channel to the west of Bruny Island, instead of going to the eastward of it. Thus, the discovery of the great channel was due to an accident. This is Labillardiere's account of the matter. A wrong bearing taken of the Mewstone accounts for the French navigator's error."
Whaling stations operated on the shores of the channel in the first half of the 19th century.
Geography and environment
The D'Entrecasteaux Channel region sheltered by Bruny Island is increasingly affected by foreshore erosion, in some areas sandbagging aims to reduce the effects.
[''Flora Fox'',]
Flora Fox, News and Information about Southern Tasmania
2011
The channel is a breeding ground for
scallops
Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of Marine (ocean), marine bivalve mollusc, mollusks in the Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Family (biology), family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also s ...
.
Prior to 1969,
fishing dredges were used to collect scallops from the seafloor.
[ Damage caused by the dredging has led to collection by ]scuba divers
This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable.
Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...
.[
The D'Entrecasteaux Channel has become a popular location for keen photographers to capture images of the ]aurora australis
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
with its numerous southern-facing water views and beaches, although light pollution from the numerous salmon farms is now starting to impact on this visual beauty from many locations.
Gallery
Kettering - Easter Sunrise 109.jpg, D'Entrecasteaux Channel from .
D'Entrecasteaux Channel 20th December 2015.jpg, Aurora Australis over D'Entrecasteaux Channel near .
See also
* Protected areas of Tasmania
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Southern Tasmania
Channels of Australia
Bruny Island
Whaling stations in Australia