Rowley Shoals

The Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about 260 km west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centered on, on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll covers an area of around 80 to 90 km² within the rim of the reef, including the lagoons, while the land areas are negligible. They belong to Western Australia. They all rise steeply from the surrounding ocean floor. To the northeast lie the Scott and Seringapatam Reefs which are located on the same undersea platform. Naming and historyThe Rowley Shoals were so named by Captain Phillip Parker King in 1818 in honour of Captain Rowley who first sighted the 'Imperieuse' reef in 1800. It is believed that the Rowley Shoals reefs have been visited by fishermen from Indonesia, from at least the mid-18th century. The fishermen were also collecting or hunting for Trepang (holothurians or sea cucumbers), turtle shell, trochus shell and shark fin. These early visitors apparently knew the Rowley Shoals as Pulau Pulo Dhaoh. In later years, fishermen from Roti Island, south of Timor, also visited the Rowley Shoals, which they knew as Pulau Bawa Angin. The individual reefs were also given names, Mermaid being called Pulau Manjariti, Clerke Reef was Pulau Tengah and Imperieuse Reef was Pulau Matsohor.

The Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about 260 km west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centered on, on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll covers an area of around 80 to 90 km² within the rim of the reef, including the lagoons, while the land areas are negligible. They belong to Western Australia. They all rise steeply from the surrounding ocean floor. To the northeast lie the Scott and Seringapatam Reefs which are located on the same undersea platform. Naming and historyThe Rowley Shoals were so named by Captain Phillip Parker King in 1818 in honour of Captain Rowley who first sighted the 'Imperieuse' reef in 1800. It is believed that the Rowley Shoals reefs have been visited by fishermen from Indonesia, from at least the mid-18th century. The fishermen were also collecting or hunting for Trepang (holothurians or sea cucumbers), turtle shell, trochus shell and shark fin. These early visitors apparently knew the Rowley Shoals as Pulau Pulo Dhaoh. In later years, fishermen from Roti Island, south of Timor, also visited the Rowley Shoals, which they knew as Pulau Bawa Angin. The individual reefs were also given names, Mermaid being called Pulau Manjariti, Clerke Reef was Pulau Tengah and Imperieuse Reef was Pulau Matsohor.