What is the Great Australian Bight?
The Great Australian Bight is the huge open bay along Australia's southern coast, stretching about 1,100 kilometres between Western Australia and South Australia.
A bight is a long, gentle curve in a coastline. The Great Australian Bight faces the Southern Ocean and is bordered by the Nullarbor Plain. Much of its shore is lined by the dramatic Bunda Cliffs.
The waters are rich in marine life. Southern right whales come to the Head of Bight each winter to calve, and the area is home to Australian sea lions, great white sharks and important fisheries such as southern bluefin tuna.
Protected waters
Part of the Bight is protected as the Great Australian Bight Marine Park. In the 2010s, plans for oil drilling in the region were abandoned after strong community concern about the risk to the marine environment.
The Bight's cold waters are rich in nutrients, and many species found there live nowhere else. Scientists estimate a large share of its marine animals are unique to southern Australia.
Did You Know?
The Bight is so large that it forms one of the most prominent curves visible on any map of Australia.