Francois Peron National Park

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz; MODIS team; NASA , Posted on: Tuesday, 30 June 2009, 05:21 CDT Download full size image

Peron Peninsula is part of Shark Bay, a region on the western coat of Australia, that contains many parks and preserves. Francois Peron National Park is located at the northern part of the Peron Peninsula. It is named after the French zoologist from Nicolas Baudin's 1801 scientific expedition to southern and western Australia.

Shark Bay is a actually located at a transition point between the temperate vegetation zone of Western Australia’s south-western region, and the desert vegetation zone of the north and east. Francois Peron National Park has both desert vegetation, as well as flower plants that grow in cooler climates. The Park also has interesting geologic features, like gypsum birridas, or claypans, which are the remains of landlocked saline lakes from thousands of years ago when sea levels were higher. The Big Lagoon is one of these former saline lakes which is now a shallow inland bay due to rising sea-levels. The turquoise waters are home to many different fish. There are many other rare and endangered animals in this region of Australia, making it rich in wildlife.

This image was captured by the MODIS on the Terra satellite on June 14, 2009.

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