Geography
Nominally located at 28°18′9″S 113°35′41″E / 28.30250°S 113.59472°E / -28.30250; 113.59472, North Island is an isolated island, separated from its nearest neighbours in the Wallabi Group by the 14 km (9 mi) wide South Passage. Despite this separation, it is sometimes treated as part of that group. It is roughly diamond-shaped and is approximately 2 km (1 1⁄4 mi) long from south to north, and 1 1⁄2 km (1 mi) from west to east, giving it an area of about 180 hectares (450 ac).
Two high points are named Record Hill and Latitude Hill. These are the only gazetted places on the island, although some other features have informal names: The most northerly and southerly point on the island have been called "North Point" and "South Point" respectively, and in 1960 a high point in the northwest corner of the island was referred to as "Northwest Hill".
On the eastern side is a seasonally inhabited permanent fishers' camp. There is an unnamed lighthouse on the western side, a trig point on the eastern side, and a gravel airstrip near the centre.
The island is surrounded by a coral reef flat. This extends about 1 1⁄2 km (1 mi) to the west of the island, and over 3 km (2 mi) to the north and south, but the reef margin lies quite close to the island on the eastern side. Most of the reef is not navigable, but a passage through the reef just north of the island is named Suda Bay Passage; one just south of the island is named Barker Passage; and there are a few breaks or channels on the eastern side of the island where boats may obtain shelter in bad weather. An area of reef immediately north of the island is named The Flat, and at the northern extreme of the reef is a breaker named The Big Breaker. About 200 m (660 ft) west of the island is a small rock informally known as "Shag Rock", but with no official name; it differs from Shag Rock in the Wallabi Group further south.
Like the rest of the Houtman Abrolhos, North Island is Australian territory. It is a part of Western Australia, and falls within the boundaries of the federal Electoral Division of Durack and the state electoral district of Geraldton. It is part of the Houtman Abrolhos Nature Reserve, an A-class reserve managed by Western Australia's Department of Fisheries.
Read more about this topic: North Island (Houtman Abrolhos)
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