- Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular
peninsula inSouth Australia . It is bounded on the east bySpencer Gulf , the west by theGreat Australian Bight , and the north by theGawler Ranges . It is named after explorerEdward John Eyre who explored some of it in1839 -1841 . The coastline was first explored byMatthew Flinders in1801 -1802 . The west coast was also visited byNicolas Baudin at around the same time.The peninsula was explored by a party led by
John Charles Darke in 1844, who was killed by local aborigines on the return to Port Lincoln.The main towns are Port Lincoln on the southern point, Whyalla and Port Augusta at the north east, and Ceduna at the northwest. They are connected by the
Eyre Highway across the inland edge, and the Flinders Highway and Lincoln Highway along the west and east coasts.The major industry is
farming -cereal crops ,sheep , andcattle in the drier north and more water-intensive activities such asdairy farming and a growingwine industry in the south. Many coastal towns have commercial fishing, in particular Port Lincoln, had a largetuna -fishing fleet, which is gradually being converted tofish farming in bays along the coast.There is a commercial
nephrite jade mine near Cowell.Iron ore is mined in the hills nearIron Knob inland from Whyalla, to where it is transported by rail forsmelting .National Parks located on the Eyre peninsula include
Lincoln National Park ,Coffin Bay National Park ,Gawler Ranges National Park , and several conservation parks and reserves likeAcraman Creek Conservation Park .In January
2005 , the Eyre Peninsula was the site of Australia's deadliest bushfire in 20 years, killing 9 people.Physiography
The area is also known as the Eyre Coastal Plain, of which it is a distinct physiographic section of the larger
Eucla Basin province, which in turn is part of the larger West Australian Shield division.External links
* [http://terraserver.com/imagery/image_gx.asp?cpx=136&cpy=-33.9&res=500&provider_id=340&t=pan Terraserver.com navigable satellite map of the Eyre Peninsula.]
*wikitravel
* [http://www.southaustralia.com/EyrePeninsula.aspx SouthAustralia.com Eyre Peninsula - Travel Guides, Accommodation, Online Booking]
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