The Dales is a wetland site located in the west of Christmas Island, an Australian external territory in the eastern Indian Ocean.
The Dales were the first location where Europeans set foot on Christmas Island in 1688, during the expedition of William Dampier.
The streams originate from groundwater seepages and flow into the ocean having, over time, worn gullies into the coastal cliffs.
Sydney Dale is a recorded site for the critically endangered endemic fern, the Christmas Island spleenwort.
The main threat to the site comes from introduced species, in particular the yellow crazy ant[2] and the development of Immigration Reception Centre nearby, above the springs.