Gulf of Carpentaria

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz / MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC , Posted on: Saturday, 2 August 2008, 01:08 CDT Download full size image

The Gulf of Carpentaria is the name of the large, shallow body of water that is cut into the center of the northern coast of Australia. Northern Australia bounds it on three sides - and the northern side of the Gulf is bounded by the Arafura Sea, which lies between Australia and New Guinea. This image of it was captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on July 29, 2008.

The part of the Northern Territory called as the "Top End" is to the west of the Gulf, while the Cape York Peninsula (which is in Queensland) lies to the east. This peninsula is very remote and even contains undisturbed tropical rainforests.

Brown sediment is visible along the coastline of the Gulf - a great many rivers drain into it. In the south, they include the Norman, the Flinders, and the Leichhardt Rivers. Blue and green phytoplankton (tiny marine plants) also inhabit the waters.

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