The Pages
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Backstairs Passage |
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Australia | |
The Pages comprise a group of two small islands and a reef lying in the Backstairs Passage, a strait separating Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia. The group is protected by designation as The Pages Conservation Park, covering an area of 20 ha.[1]
Etymology
The islands were known to the indigenous Kaurna people as Metalong.[1] They were named “The Pages” by Matthew Flinders on 7 April 1802 from their fancied resemblance to pages guarding their strategic position at the eastern entrance to the strait.[2]
Description
Geologically, The Pages are constituted of phyllites of the Brukunga Formation, formed from metamorphosed Cambrian sedimentary rocks. The two main islands, lying about 2 km apart, are similar in size; North Page is 400 m long, 200 m wide and 24 m high, and South Page 450 m long, 170 m wide and 20 m high. The reef, south-west of South Page, comprises two adjacent wave-washed islets, rising a metre or so above sea level, with a combined length of 380 m. The islands are rugged; they contain no beaches and access by sea is difficult. There is a navigational aid on the top of South Page Island.[1]
Flora and fauna
Small pockets of soil on the tops of the islands support patches of vegetation. Recorded plants include Variable Groundsel, Bulbine Lily, Round-leaved Pigface, Ruby Saltbush and an Atriplex saltbush. Silver Gulls breed on the islands, which also support a breeding colony of Australian Sea Lions.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bo (1983). Island conservation parks of Backstairs Passage and Encounter Bay management plans. Adelaide: National Parks and Wildlife Service. ISBN 0-7243-4588-4.
- ↑ Flinders, Matthew (1966) [1814]. A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island. (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide; Facsimile reprint of: London : G. and W. Nicol, 1814 ed. In two volumes, with an Atlas (3 volumes): Libraries Board of South Australia. p. 2262. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
Coordinates: 35°46′10″S 138°17′45″E / 35.76944°S 138.29583°E
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