SPACEPHOTOS

The northeast coast of Queensland has a variety of bays, islands, and peninsulas that identify a unique coastline along the western boundary of the Capricorn Channel. This coastline has a variety of water discharge points where sediment has the potential to damage the Great Barrier Reef. The highly reflective water surface in Broad Sound shows a substantial quantity of sediment in this embayment. Even the sediment laden Keppel Bay (top center) suggests that the region in this synoptic view has experienced recent widespread precipitation causing the runoff into the coastal waters. The proximity of some of these discharge areas to the Great Barrier Reef that extends 1200 miles (1930 kilometers) is of environmental concern to keep the world’s largest reef system healthy and from being contaminated by sediments that could adversely effect the living coral of the reefs. Shoalwater Bay is the other V-shaped bay east of Broad Sound. The irregular-shaped, lighter colored feature near the bottom right corner of the image is muddy-looking Fairbaith Reservoir which is located southwest of the small town of Emerald. The darker landscape shows areas of low mountains that include the Connors, Broadsound, and Boomer Ranges.