| Maupertuis Bay | |
| Pushpin Map: | Australia South Australia |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in South Australia |
| Location: | Flinders Chase, South Australia |
| Coords: | -35.996°N 136.66°W |
| Coordinates Footnotes: | [1] |
| Type: | Bay |
| Inflow: | Rocky River |
| Basin Countries: | Australia |
| Length: | [2] |
| Width: | about |
| Depth: | 30- |
Maupertuis Bay (fr|'''Baie Maupertuis''') is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-west coastline of Kangaroo Island.[1]
It faces to the south-west and extends for a distance of about from an unnamed headland in the north-west to Cape du Couedic in the south-east.[2] Its coastline is located within the locality of Flinders Chase.[1]
Rivers draining into the bay includes the Rocky River which rises from within a catchment located in both the Flinders Chase National Park and the Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area.[3]
Maupertuis Bay was named after mathematician and philosopher Pierre Louis Maupertuis by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin.[4]
On 24 April 1899, the Scottish barque Loch Sloy was wrecked off the coast from Maupertuis Bay[5] resulting in the deaths of all but three of its 32 crew and passengers.
Since 2012, the waters of the bay have been located within a "habitat protection zone" with the Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park which is managed by the Government of South Australia.[6]