Neptune Island

The South Neptune Islands sit on the Southern aspect of the Australasian Continental shelf, at a distance of 70 kilometres South by South~East of Port Lincoln, in South Australia. The depth of water on the Eastern side of the islands is 40 metres. Water depth increases to 95 metres on the southern and westerly sides of the islands. The Neptune Islands of South Australia, consist of two major islands forming an extended crescent which is divided by a small sea channel running from the South~West to the North~East. The Southern Islands' large headland supports a major New Zealand Fur Seal colony as well as the rarer and more endangered Australian Sea Lion. Both calving colony areas exist relatively West of the Southern island . In turn, the presence of these two colonies of sea mammals supports a migratory population of both Great White sharks & Bronze Whalers. Part of the film Jaws was filmed here by famed shark-attack survivor Rodney Fox.

The islands Geomorphology consists of major extrusions of hard and brittle grey Granite in part overlaid with a grey coastal loam covering the sheltered areas of the two islands. This soil is mostly dry & alkaline in quality, with some small patches of desiccated guano matter arising from the various transitory bird colonies.

The aforementioned, Southern island, which supports the Neptune Island lighthouse and cottage, slopes moderately from the North~East to the South~West and rise to a peak of 37 metres upon which stands the lighthouse. The Southern Island has a total area of 1.04 km². The Northern island has a headland plateau that rises to 35 metres above sea level. As such, the plateau runs at an incline from South~West to North~East. In comparison, the Northern island has a total land mass area of 0.98 km² The Neptune island group are part of the greater Marine Conservation park of South Australia, and come under the protection of environmental authorities.