What is Bass Strait?
[[Image:Australia locator Bass Strait.png|thumb|250px|right|Map of Australia with Bass Strait marked in light blue]] '''Bass Strait''' is a sea [[strait]] separating [[Tasmania]] from the south of the [[Australia]]n mainland, specifically the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]. The strait was named after [[George Bass]] who travelled it in 1798.<ref>[[Matthew Flinders|Flinders, Matthew]] (1814). ''[[A Voyage to Terra Australis]]''</ref> It is about 240&nbsp;km wide at its narrowest point and generally around 50 metres deep. It has many islands, with [[King Island (Tasmania)|King Island]] and [[Flinders Island]] home to many towns. The water is very rough, with many ships lost in the 19th century. A lighthouse was built on [[Deal Island (Tasmania)|Deal Island]] in 1848 to help ships in the eastern part of the Straits. On the west, the [[Cape Otway]] Lighthouse was first lit in 1848. Another lighthouse was at Cape Wickham at the northern end of [[King Island (Tasmania)|King Island]] in 1861. ==Islands== [[Image:Bass Strait islands.png|thumb|350px|right|Map of Bass Strait including major island groups]] There are over 50 islands in Bass Strait. Major islands include: Western section: *[[King Island (Tasmania)|King Island]] *[[Three Hummock Island]] *[[Hunter Island (North-west Tasmania)|Hunter Island]] *[[Robbins Island]] South eastern section: *[[Furneaux Group]] **[[Flinders Island, Tasmania|Flinders Island]] **[[Cape Barren Island]] **[[Clark Island (Tasmania)|Clark Island]] **and several other islands North eastern section: *[[Kent Group]] **[[Deal Island, Bass Strait|Deal Island]] **and 3 smaller islands *[[Hogan Island]] * [[Curtis Island (Tasmania)|Curtis Island]] ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ==Other websites== {{commons cat-inline}} {{Coord|40|S|146|E|type:waterbody_scale:2500000|display=title}} [[Category:Straits]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Australia]] [[Category:Geography of Victoria, Australia]] [[Category:Geography of Tasmania]]