About Shark Bay

Shark Bay World Heritage Area

Situated on the westernmost edge of the Australian continent, Shark Bay is actually two bays separated by the Peron Peninsula.

Shark Bay was recognised by UNESCO in 1991 as one of the most remarkable places on Earth. The Shark Bay World Heritage Area covers 2.2 million hectares and is considered to be one of the world’s greatest wilderness treasures. To be listed, Shark Bay has satisfied natural World Heritage site criteria in the areas of:

• Major stages in the evolutionary history of the world
• ​Geological and biological processes
• Natural beauty and Unique and significant natural species.

The Shark Bay region is home to five of Australia’s 26 endangered mammal species, as well as 35 percent of Australia’s bird species. The Shark Bay mouse is one of the more well-known endangered species of the region.

The stromatolites found in Hamelin Pool are the most diverse and abundant examples of stromatolitic microbialites in the world. These are colonies of algae which form hard deposits in shallow waters and are similar to structures that were the dominant benthic ecosystems on Earth for 3,000 million years.

Shark Bay is particularly interesting in terms of biological and geomorphic processes due to the natural marine basin within the bay causing variations in water salinity. Over time, the marine basin near Hamelin Pool has formed a reverse estuary containing hypersaline waters. The hyper-salinity is aided by low movement of water through the area and high temperatures resulting in increased evaporation.

As of May 2007, Shark Bay was one of 15 World Heritage locations that were included on the Australian National Heritage list.

To find out more, visit​ w​ww.sharkbay.org.au.

Shark Bay Accommodation

There are various accommodation options in Shark Bay, including resort, villa, caravanning, backpacker and camping locations. These can be booked through the Shark Bay Discovery Centre, the accredited Tourist Information Centre in Shark Bay.

Ocean Park offers transfers from all accommodation in Shark Bay for our 4WD tours.

If you want to compare hotel rates first, check HotelsCombined​ to see prices from thousands of major travel sites.

Alternatively, there are Denham or Shark Bay real estate opportunities available through the local estate agency, Ray White.​

Tours and attractions

• Ocean Park Aquarium Tours
• Ocean Park 4WD Tours
• Aboriginal Culture Tours
• Monkey Mia Wildsights
• Dirk Hartog 2016

Shark Bay Tourism information

• Shark Bay Visitor Centre
• Shark Bay Info
• Shark Bay Phone Directory
• Experience Shark Bay