Neha Patil (Editor)

Mount Adolphus Island

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Archipelago
  
Torres Strait Islands

Total islands
  
1

Width
  
2.1 km (1.3 mi)

Area
  
6.74 km²

Adjacent body of water
  
Torres Strait

Adjacent bodies of water
  
Torres Strait

Length
  
4.4 km (2.73 mi)

Elevation
  
150 m

Island group
  
Torres Strait Islands

Mount Adolphus Island httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Location
  
Adolphus Channel, Cape York Peninsula, Northern Australia

Mount Adolphus Island, also called Muri or Mori in the native language, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago that is located at the very tip of Cape York Peninsula on the northern side of the Adolphus Channel, across from Albany Island and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Bamaga in the far north region of Queensland, Australia.

Contents

Map of Mount Adolphus Island, Queensland 4805, Australia

Geography

Mount Adolphus Island is 4.4 kilometres (2.7 mi) long, and 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) wide at its widest point. It measures 6.74 square kilometres (2.60 sq mi) in area. It is located 10.1 kilometres (6.3 mi) from the Australian mainland. The island's highest elevation is the flat-topped Mount Adolphus at the height of 150 metres (490 ft) above mean sea level. Blackwood Bay indents the west shore of the island.

Shipwrecks

  • Aliquis, a ship captained by Gill and sailed from Port Jackson to Calcutta, was lost near Mount Adolphus Island, Torres Strait, in May 1839. No lives were lost. The crew were picked up by the ship Argyle, also bound Sydney to India.
  • RMS Quetta, a steel steamship of 3,481 long tons (3,537 t) that was built at Dumbarton, Scotland in 1881. Owned by the British, India Steam Navigation Company and captained by Alfred Sanders, the ship was bound from Brisbane to London. It foundered when she struck a needle of uncharted coral in Mount Adolphus Channel, on 28 February 1890. 133 lives were lost and there were 158 survivors. A submerged rock had ripped through six water-tight compartments of the hull, from the bows to the engine room. Stokers were killed instantly as water rushed onto the boilers causing them to explode. Lower-deck portholes burst under the water pressure and the sea flooded in swamping passengers asleep in their bunks. For half a minute the ship hung at a 45-degree angle, then she slid slowly beneath the surface. Within less than five minutes of striking the rock she was gone.

    • References

    Mount Adolphus Island Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA