The Ningaloo Coast is a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

located in the

north west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

coastal region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The heritage-listed area is located approximately north of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, along the East Indian Ocean. The distinctive Ningaloo Reef that fringes the Ningaloo Coast is long and is Australia's largest fringing

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

and the only large reef positioned very close to a landmass. The Muiron Islands and Cape Farquhar are within this coastal zone. The coast and reef draw their name from the

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

Wajarri language Wajarri ( ) is an endangered Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Kartu languages of the Pama–Nyungan languages, Pama–Nyungan family. Geographic distribution Wajarri country is inland from Ger ...

word meaning 'promontory', 'deepwater', or 'high land jutting into the sea'. The

Yamatji Yamatji (or Yamaji) is a Wajarri word that has at least two different meanings: * a member of the Wajarri people * any Aboriginal Australian from the Murchison region of Western Australia. Yamatji peoples were involved in a large native tit ...

peoples of the Baiyungu and Yinigudura are the traditional owners of the area.

Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Site

The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated in 2011, and the adopted boundary included the

Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth waters) The Ningaloo Marine Park (formerly known as the Ningaloo Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is an Australian marine park offshore of Western Australia, and west of the Ningaloo Coast. The marine park covers an area of and is assigned IUCN category ...

, Ningaloo Marine Park (State waters) and Muiron Islands Marine Management Area (including the Muiron Islands), Jurabi Coastal Park, Bundegi Coastal Park,

Cape Range National Park Cape Range National Park is a national park in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The park occupies the western side of the North West Cape peninsula over an area of . The nearest town is Exmouth, and directly off the c ...

, and the Learmonth Air Weapons Range. The site was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on the

Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of National heritage site, national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The li ...

on 6 January 2010 under the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

. In 1987, the reef and surrounding waters were designated as the Ningaloo Marine Park.

Reputation

Although most famed for its

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter feeder, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known Extant taxon, extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of . The whale shark holds many records for ...

s which feed there during March to August, the reef is also rich in

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

and other marine life. During the winter months, the reef is part of the migratory routes for

dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

manta rays Manta rays are large Batoidea, rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, ''Giant oceanic manta ray, M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, ''Reef manta ray, M. alfredi'', reac ...

and

humpback whales The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

. The beaches of the reef are an important breeding ground of the loggerhead,

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and

hawksbill turtles The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution that is largely ...

. They also depend on the reef for nesting and food. The Ningaloo supports an abundance of fish (500 species), corals (300 species), molluscs (600 species) and many other

marine invertebrates Marine invertebrates are invertebrate animals that live in marine habitats, and make up most of the macroscopic life in the oceans. It is a polyphyletic blanket term that contains all marine animals except the marine vertebrates, including the ...

. The reef is less than offshore in some areas, such as Coral Bay. In 2006, researchers from the

Australian Institute of Marine Science Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

discovered gardens of sponges in the marine park's deeper waters that are thought to be species completely new to science. The short-nosed sea snake, thought to have been extinct for 17 years, was found on Ningaloo Reef in December 2015.

Conservation controversy

During the early 2000s, significant controversy arose over the proposed construction of a

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

at Mauds Landing, a crucial nesting ground for the

loggerhead turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when ful ...

. It was also feared that the resort would be generally degrading to the entire marine park. Author

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the ...

, who lives in the area, was vocal in his opposition to the development. In 2002, when he won the WA Premier's Book Award, he donated the prize money, equivalent to in , to the community campaign to save the reef. Ultimately the planned resort did not go ahead. However, developers continue to take an interest in the area.

Ningaloo Collaborative Research Cluster

The Ningaloo Collaboration Cluster, an extensive research initiative commenced in 2007 within the region, forms a vital part of the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

flagship Collaboration Fund Research Initiative. The project involves researchers from the CSIRO, Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre and a range of Australian Universities including

Curtin University of Technology Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister ...

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

and the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. The project aims to create a dynamic model of Ningaloo that integrates socioeconomic factors and environmental impacts resulting from human activities in the region. This model will be combined with an ecological model of the area, ultimately serving to develop planning tools and management models. The primary goal is to facilitate sustainable utilization of the region's resources. The study entails gathering and analysing socioeconomic data from both tourists and the local communities of

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

, Coral Bay, and Carnarvon. It also encompasses the collection of data on the environmental impact of human activities, encompassing natural resource utilization, waste generation, pollution, visual implications, and effects on flora and fauna. The interactive project involves key stakeholders in the region including the Department of Environment and Conservation, the shires of Carnarvon and

, local tourism organisations and

Tourism Western Australia Tourism Western Australia is the statutory authority responsible for promoting Western Australia as a tourist destination. Its earlier predecessors included The Department of Tourism and the Tourism Commission. The change to the current name wa ...

, the Gascoyne Development Commission, the

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation was formed on 1 July 2017, when the Department of Environment Regulation (DER) amalgamated with the Department of Water and the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority. It is respons ...

, researchers from Wealth from the Oceans and Ningaloo Project, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, WA Department of Energy and Resources, Department of Fisheries, the

Department for Planning and Infrastructure The Department for Planning and Infrastructure was a department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for implementing the state's planning, infrastructure and transport policies during the Gallop Ministry, Gallop and Carpen ...

, the Ningaloo Sustainable Development Committee and Ningaloo Sustainable Development Office, Yamatji Land and Sea Council representatives, and the Ningaloo research community along with other cluster project members and the state's Ningaloo project. The project involves collaborating with regional planners and managers to analyse the development and management of tourism.

Specific reserved areas

National parks and reserves in the World Heritage Area

* Bundegi Coastal Park *

* Jurabi Coastal Park *

* Ningaloo Marine Park (State waters)

Bays of the World Heritage area

Islands of the World Heritage area

* North Muiron Island * South Muiron Island

Peninsulas of the World Heritage area

Marine Park zones

* Bundegi Sanctuary Zone * Murat Sanctuary Zone * Lighthouse Bay Sanctuary Zone * Jurabi Sanctuary Zone * Tantabiddi Sanctuary Zone * Mangrove Sanctuary Zone * Lakeside Sanctuary Zone * Mandu Sanctuary Zone * Osprey Sanctuary Zone * Winderabandi Sanctuary Zone * Cloates Sanctuary Zone * Bateman Sanctuary Zone * Maud Sanctuary Zone * Pelican Sanctuary Zone * Cape Farquhar Sanctuary Zone * Gnaraloo Bay Sanctuary Zone * 3 Mile Sanctuary Zone * Turtles Sanctuary Zone * South Muiron Conservation Area * North Muiron Conservation Area * Sunday Island Conservation Area

Coastal forecast area

Ningaloo Coast is a designated weather forecast area, by the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

. Western Australia Forecast Areas

References

External links

;Official websites *

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List
Shark Bay, Western AustraliaNingaloo Coast
UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture * * * ;Additional information

Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre site

Department of Environment and Conservation Site

A Ningaloo conservation site
{{Authority control Coral reefs Shire of Exmouth Australian National Heritage List World Heritage Sites in Western Australia Protected areas of Western Australia Marine parks of Western Australia IMCRA meso-scale bioregions Biogeography of Western Australia Central Indo-Pacific IMCRA provincial bioregions