Coral Bay is a small coastal settlement located 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) north of Perth, in the Shire of Carnarvon in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

Bordered by the Ningaloo Reef, it is a popular tourist destination and largely owes its survival to revenue derived from wildlife tourism.

[3] Coral Bay is a unique location in that the reef fringes the water's edge, making it easily accessible for snorkellers.

Coral Bay forms part of the Carnarvon Basin, an area consisting of undulating sand plains that slant toward the ocean, resulting in a low relief open drainage pattern.

Later that year Captain Jacobz of the ship Mauritius made contact with land, however the district remained largely uninhabited for decades following due to its dry climate and remote location.

[10][11] The earliest recorded European activity in the Coral Bay region was at Mauds Landing, which acted as a shipping point for wool, sheep and cattle from 1884 to 1946.

The port was named after the schooner Maud, whose captain discovered the site 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Coral Bay.

[15] It was not until the late 1960s that Bills Bay began to form a functioning township, when a section of Cardabia Station was sold to Ken Ryan.

Bill purchased a transportable building, a charter yacht and a sight-seeing boat which he called Miss Coral Bay I.

[6] Coral Bay is marketed widely as a premier holiday destination and the town offers a number of tourist activities such as whale watching, snorkelling and swimming with manta rays.

[22] Visitors mostly comprised Western Australia based families, in comparison to nearby Exmouth, which attracts a large number of international and inter-state tourists.

[25] Further tourist attractions in the surrounding area include:[24] Coral Bay sources its water from artesian wells, desalinated for domestic use.