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Fraser Island Native name: K'gari
Fraser Island view from Indian Head.jpg
View north from Indian Head, 2004
Geography
Location Australia
Coordinates 25°13′S 153°08′E / 25.217°S 153.133°E / -25.217; 153.133Coordinates: 25°13′S 153°08′E / 25.217°S 153.133°E / -25.217; 153.133
Area 1,840 km2 (710 sq mi)
Highest elevation 244 m (801 ft)
Highest point Mount Bowarrady
Country
Australia
State Queensland
LGA Fraser Coast Regional Council
Largest city Eurong
Demographics
Population 360 (as of 2006)
Density 0.2 /km2 (0.5 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups White Australians (349)
Fraser Island, is an island located along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) north of Brisbane. Its length is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) and its width is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi).[1] It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992.[2] The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1840 km².[3] It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia.
The island has rain forests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.[4] Fraser Island is home to a small number of mammal species,[5] as well as a diverse range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater crocodile. The island is part of the Fraser Coast Regional Council and protected in the Great Sandy National Park.
Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for as much as 5,000 years.[4] Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in May of 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the most northern point of the island in 1802. For a short period the island was known as Great Sandy Island. The island became known as Fraser due to the stories of a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Fraser. Today the island is a popular tourism destination. Its resident human population was 360 at the census of 2006.
