Dampier Archipelago

The archipelago is also made up of reefs, shoals, channels and straits and is the traditional home of five Aboriginal language groups.

It was formed 7000 years ago when rising sea levels flooded what were once coastal plains.

The underlying rocks are among the oldest on Earth, formed in the Archaean period more than 2.4 billion years ago.

The Yinidbarndi, Yaburara, Mardudhunera, and Woon-goo-tt-oo peoples have lived in the area for approximately 50,000 years.

[5] In 1868, the area was the site of the Flying Foam massacre, in which between 20 and 150 members of the Yaburara are reported to have been killed.