File:Western Australia (MODIS 2017-01-27).jpg

English: The dramatic landscape of Western Australia encompasses one-third of the landmass of Australia, or about 2.5 million square kilometers (927,000 sq. mi). The vastness of the countryside allows for a wide range of climates: southern Western Australia enjoys a Mediterranean climate, while the north claims tropical conditions, and the east is filled with hot, arid desert. To the west lies the Indian Ocean, with biodiverse marine habitats and remarkable beaches.

On January 23, 2017. the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua acquired a stunning true-color image of the western portion of Western Australia.

One of the most spectacular features captured in this image is Shark Bay. This World Heritage Area is actually two bay sheltered by a long island and peninsulas. The average depth of water in the bay is about 30 feet (9 meters) and contains significant seagrass meadows. In the hypersaline waters of Hamelin Pool – part of Shark Bay – are found stromatolites – hard, dome-shaped structures formed by microbial mats. They are considered “living fossils”, as similar organisms dominated marine ecosystems on Earth as long as 3,000 million years ago.

Shark Bay provides a home to a wide variety of animal and fish, including the endangered loggerhead turtle, green turtle and dugong. It is an important resting site for migratory bird species, as well as migrating humpback whales. According to the official Shark Bay World Heritage Area website, it is home to more than 100 species of reptiles and amphibians, 240 species of bird, 820 species of fish and more than 80 coral and 218 bivalve species.