The Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve is a protected area in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shark Bay, located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. This reserve covers 127,000 hectares (310,000 acres) and contains the most diverse and numerous living marine stromatolites in the world. These structures are some of the oldest living things on Earth, dating back over 3.5 billion years.
Location and access
Hamelin Pool is a large body of water in the eastern part of Shark Bay. It is separated from the western part of Shark Bay by the Peron Peninsula. A smaller body of water, called L'Haridon Bight, is located near the northern edge of Hamelin Pool, close to Faure Island. The northern edge of Hamelin Pool is marked by the Wooramel Seagrass Bank. The marine reserve is located next to the Hamelin Station Reserve and the historic Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station. It is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of the Overlander Roadhouse on the North West Coastal Highway. To reach Hamelin Pool, visitors can travel along Hamelin Pool Road and enter through the grounds of the Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station. Entry to the area is free.
Marine reserve
Hamelin Pool was named after Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin (1768–1839), a French naval officer who was the captain of the ship Naturaliste. Its French name is Havre Hamelin.
The Marine Reserve covers 1,270 square kilometers (490 square miles). It is one of the few places in the world where living marine stromatolites can be found. Other locations with stromatolites include an underwater site 6 meters (20 feet) deep in the Caribbean, Persian Gulf, and Great Salt Lake of Utah. Hamelin Pool has the most diverse collection of stromatolites and microbial life in the world.
Stromatolites in Hamelin Pool were discovered in 1956 by surveyors working for an oil exploration company. These were the first living examples of structures formed by cyanobacteria. The cyanobacteria in Hamelin Pool are direct descendants of the earliest photosynthetic life on Earth. Stromatolites are similar to 3.5 billion-year-old stromatolite fossils found in many places around the world. Stromatolites are among the earliest records of life on Earth. They are found along the shores, mostly near the coordinates 26°23′S 114°09′E.
Hamelin Pool has very high salt levels, about twice that of normal seawater. This environment supports stromatolite growth while preventing other marine life that might eat the bacteria. Cyanobacteria live in communities on the sea floor, with up to 3 billion individuals per square meter. These are the simplest life forms that use sunlight to make food and oxygen. They produced most of Earth’s early oxygen atmosphere long before plants existed. Tiny particles like sand and crushed shells are trapped by the sticky bacteria and cemented together with calcium carbonate, forming stromatolite structures. Some structures are pillars up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall and took thousands of years to grow. In the Marble Bar area of Western Australia, fossil stromatolites are about 50 meters (160 feet) tall and 30 meters (98 feet) wide. These are over three billion years old. Stromatolites typically grow about 0.5 millimeters (0.020 inches) per year.
There are three basic types of stromatolites: sub-tidal columns (always underwater) and inter-tidal anvil or mushroom shapes (exposed to air and sun during low tides). Algal mats form in the inter-tidal region and appear as flat black mud flats but are actually living stromatolites.
At Hamelin Pool, an interpretive boardwalk allows tourists to examine stromatolite structures. This is the only public access area because the environment is fragile.
Hutchinson Island and Pelican Island are located within the nature reserve.
Telegraph station
The Historic Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station, constructed in 1884, and the Historic Old Post Office, first built in 1886, now serve as the local community post office and public phone box. The museum displays information about the growth of stromatolites and features the only living stromatolites in captivity, which are kept in an aquarium. The museum also explains the construction and operation of the Historic Telegraph Station during the 1880s.