Lacepede Bay (locally /ˈlæsəˌpd/ LASS-ə-peed, French: Baie Lacépède) is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south-east coast about 140 kilometres (87 miles) northwest of Mount Gambier and about 240 kilometres (150 miles) southeast of Adelaide. It was named in 1802 by the Baudin expedition of 1800-03 after Bernard Germain de Lacépède, the French naturalist. It is one of four ‘historic bays’ located on the South Australian coast.

Lacepede Bay
Lacepede Bay is located in South Australia
Lacepede Bay
Lacepede Bay
Location in South Australia
LocationLimestone Coast, South Australia
Coordinates36°48′56″S 139°48′05″E / 36.815455°S 139.801417°E / -36.815455; 139.801417[1]
TypeBay
Basin countriesAustralia
Max. length40.98 km (25.46 mi)[2]
Max. width10 km (6.2 mi)[2]
Max. depth11.0 m (36.1 ft)[2]
SettlementsKingston, SE
Cape Jaffa

Description edit

Lacepede Bay was named in 1802 by Peron and Freycinet of the Baudin expedition of 1800-03 after Bernard Germain de Lacépède, the French naturalist.[citation needed] Lacepede Bay lies between a locality known as Granite Rocks at its northern extremity and Cape Jaffa at its southern extremity on the south-east coast of South Australia. The bay is described as:[3]

The sandy shore is backed by sandhills, gradually decreasing in height, for a distance of 7 nautical miles (13 km) S[outh] of Granite Rocks. Kingston is situated on the S[outh] side of the entrance to Maria Creek, at the head of the bay. Between Kingston and Cape Jaffa, the land is low and swampy, with a wooded bank behind the sandy beach; there is a prominent white sand patch on the bank above the beach, 9 nautical miles (17 km) SW of Kingston.

Lacepede Bay is one of four bays on the South Australian coast considered by the Australian government to be a ‘historic bay’ under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 and was proclaimed as such in 1987 and again in 2006 and 2016 with the result that the mouth of the bay is on the territorial seas baseline and the waters within the bay are internal waters as per the definition used in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[4][5][6]

The following settlements are located on its shores: Kingston, SE and Cape Jaffa. Both settlements have port infrastructure consisting of jetties and while Cape Jaffa has a marina.[2][7] The following protected areas are located within the bay's waters or adjoin its extent: the Upper South East Marine Park and the Butchers Gap Conservation Park. [8][9]

References edit

  1. ^ "Search result for "Lacepede Bay" using the following datasets - "NPW and Conservation Properties", "Rock Lobster Sanctuaries", "State Marine Park Network", "SA Government Regions" and "Gazetteer"". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d South Australia. Department of Marine and Harbors (1985), The Waters of South Australia a series of charts, sailing notes and coastal photographs, Dept. of Marine and Harbors, South Australia, pp. Charts 6 & 7, ISBN 978-0-7243-7603-2
  3. ^ Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 175: North, West, and South Coasts of Australia (PDF). Sailing Directions. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 228.
  4. ^ "Article 8 Internal waters, Part II, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea". United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  5. ^ "EXPLANATORY STATEMENT Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General, Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2006". Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2016". Commonwealth of Australia. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Cape Jaffa Anchorage". The Australian Marinas Guide. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  8. ^ "MARINE PARK 18 Upper South East" (PDF). Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Butcher Gap Conservation Park". Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 30 July 2014.