Maupertuis Bay () is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

located on the south-west coastline of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

. It faces to the south-west and extends for a distance of about from an unnamed headland in the north-west to Cape du Couedic in the south-east. Its coastline is located within the locality of Flinders Chase. Rivers draining into the bay includes the Rocky River which rises from within a catchment located in both the

Flinders Chase National Park Flinders Chase National Park (formerly Flinders Chase) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and west of the municipal ...

and the Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area. ''Maupertuis Bay'' was named after mathematician and philosopher

Pierre Louis Maupertuis Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the director of the Académie des Sciences and the first president of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...

by the French explorer

Nicolas Baudin Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 175416 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific. He carried a few corms of Gros Michel banana ...

. On 24 April 1899, the Scottish

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

'' Loch Sloy'' was wrecked off the coast from Maupertuis Bay resulting in the deaths of all but three of its 32 crew and passengers. Since 2012, the waters of the bay have been located within a "habitat protection zone" with the Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park which is managed by the Government of South Australia.

References

{{AusplacesnamedbyFrench , state=collapsed Bays of Kangaroo Island

See also

References