Shark Bay is an extension of the Indian Ocean on the western coast of Australia . It is about 450 miles (724 kilometers) northwest of Perth , the capital of the state of Western Australia . The bay lies at the most western point on Australia’s coast.
Many of the nearby landforms are named for Dutch and French explorers. Edel Land is a peninsula that forms the western boundary of the bay. It was named for the Dutch sea captain Jan de Edel, who explored the area in 1619. Dirk Hartog Island, named for the Dutch navigator Dirk Hartog , lies north of Edel Land. Farther north are Dorre and Bernier islands. Dorre Island was named for Peter Dorre, the pilot of Hartog’s expedition. Bernier Island was named after the French astronomer Pierre-François Bernier.
The Peron Peninsula, named for the French explorer François Péron, juts into the middle of Shark Bay. Denham, the westernmost town in Australia, lies on the western side of this peninsula. Monkey Mia, a marine reserve known for its bottlenose dolphins, lies on the peninsula’s eastern side. Faure Island, which was named after the French astronomer Pierre Faure, is east of the Peron Peninsula.
Shark Bay is a popular recreational fishing and tourism center. Each year, many tourists visit Shark Bay to see the sea mammals called dugongs that live there. The area is also known for its abundant beds of sea grass and for the presence of stromatolites (reeflike mounds of rock created by communities of microbes). 
Several parks and reserves have been created to protect the region. Much of the Shark Bay area lies within the Shark Bay Marine Park, a marine reserve that covers about 2,890 square miles (7,487 square kilometers). Francois Peron National Park covers the northern third of the Peron Peninsula. Dirk Hartog Island National Park includes nearly the entire island. Hamelin Pool, a section of Shark Bay that lies between the Peron Peninsula and the mainland, is protected as part of the Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve. The pool was named for the French sea captain Jacques Felix Emmanuel Hamelin
In 1616, Dirk Hartog became the first European to visit Shark Bay. In 1699, the English seaman William Dampier gave the bay its name because of the large number of sharks that live there. The French navigator Nicolas Baudin led a voyage to the area in 1801 and 1802. Bernier, Faure, Hamelin, and Péron were members of Baudin’s expedition. In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added Shark Bay to its World Heritage List . UNESCO World Heritage Sites are places of unique natural or cultural importance.
