Moriarty Rocks Explained

Moriarty Rocks
Map:Australia Tasmania
Map Relief:1
Map Width:280
Location:Bass Strait
Coordinates:-40.58°N 148.27°W
Archipelago:Passage Group, part of the Furneaux Group
Total Islands:2
Area Ha:2.46
Country:Australia
Country Admin Divisions Title:State
Country Admin Divisions:Tasmania

The Moriarty Rocks, part of the Passage Group within the Furneaux Group, are a group of two major unpopulated granite rocks, and several smaller ones, with a combined area of, located in Bass Strait, south of Cape Barren Island, west of the Low Islets, and west of the Spike and Clarke islands, in Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia. The rocks are contained within a nature reserve.[1]

History

Sealing is reported to have taken on the rocks in December 1830.[2]

Flora and fauna

There is little vegetation on the rocks, due to them being frequently wave-washed. black-faced cormorants breed there, and they hold an important breeding colony of Australian fur seals, with up to about 1000 pups being born there annually.[3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Small Bass Strait Island Reserves. Draft Management Plan . . October 2000 . 4 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110330063352/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=6388 . 30 March 2011 . dead .
  2. Book: Kostoglou . Parry . Sealing in Tasmania . 1996 . Parks and Wildlife Service . Hobart . 99 . First.
  3. Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart.