Bass Strait

Bass Strait (IPA /bæs/) is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland (Victoria in particular). The first European to discover it was Matthew Flinders in 1798. Flinders named it after his ship's doctor George Bass.

Related Topics:
IPA - Strait - Tasmania - Australia - Victoria - Matthew Flinders - 1798 - George Bass

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Approximately 240 km wide at its narrowest point and generally only around 50 metres deep, it was almost dry during the last ice age. It contains many islands, with King Island and Flinders Island home to substantial human settlements.

Related Topics:
Ice age - King Island - Flinders Island

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Like the rest of the waters surrounding Tasmania, and particularly because of its limited depth, it is notoriously rough, with many ships lost there during the 19th century. In 1859 the Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse was completed, helping to protect shipping passing that point.

Related Topics:
19th century - 1859 - Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse

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Strong currents between the Antarctic-driven Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea provide a strait of powerful, wild storm waves. To illustrate its wild strength, Bass Strait is both twice as wide and twice as rough as the English Channel. The shipwrecks on the Tasmanian and Victorian coastlines number in the hundreds, although stronger metal ships and modern marine navigation have dropped the danger sharply.

Related Topics:
Southern Ocean - Tasman Sea - English Channel - Navigation

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