The Buccaneer Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 near the town of Derby

Derby, Western Australia

Derby is a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. At the 2006 census, Derby had a population of 3,093. Along with Broome and Kununurra, it is one of only three towns in the Kimberley to have a population over 2,000...

 in the Kimberley region. The closest inhabited place is Bardi

Bardi, Western Australia

Bardi or One Arm Point is an Indigenous Australian Community town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is located 2446 km North of Perth and the closest populated town is Derby...

 located about 54 kilometres (34 mi) from the western end of the island group.

The Archipelago covering over 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi). is located at the head of King Sound

King Sound

King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about 120 km long, and averages about 50 km in width. The port town of Derby lies near the mouth of the...

 and is composed of about 800 islands found between King Sound

King Sound

King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about 120 km long, and averages about 50 km in width. The port town of Derby lies near the mouth of the...

 and Collier Bay near Yampi Sound

Yampi Sound

Yampi Sound is a part of the Indian Ocean off the coast of northwestern Australia, located between King Sound and Collier Bay. The islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago, located in the sound, contain rich silver and iron ore deposits. The high grade iron ore deposits has been mined in the Sound...

. The area experiences a huge tidal range, of over 12 metres (39 ft), which once wreaked havoc on the pearl

Pearl

A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...

ing fleet that operated in the area last century.
The rocks that the islands are made of are over 2 billion years old, as is the surrounding coastline. The islands themselves were formed more recently as a result of rising sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

s creating a drowned coastline

Ria

A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...

. The rocks are ancient pre-cambrian

Cambrian

The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...

 sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

s. The islands are generally rocky, many also have high cliffs. The islands are in almost pristine condition as a result of their isolation and difficulty of access. Some are sparsely vegetated with patches of rain-forest and area fringed with mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

s where silt has built up.

The archipelago was named after the English buccaneer and privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

 William Dampier

William Dampier

William Dampier was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer...

, who chartered the area in 1688, by Philip Parker King

Philip Parker King

Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN was an early explorer of the Australian coast.-Early life and education:...

 in 1820.

Islands

Island	Area
Cockatoo Island
Koolan Island Koolan Island Koolan Island is an island off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago. It is about 1,900 km north of Perth, and about 130 km north of Derby...	27.1 square kilometres (10 sq mi)
Irvine Island Irvine Island Irvine Island is located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago. It is about 250 km north-east of Broome, 140 km north of Derby and hosts an unmined deposit of iron ore...
Bathurst Island
Bedford Islands
Hidden Island	19.7 square kilometres (8 sq mi)
Long Island	14.8 square kilometres (6 sq mi)
Sunday Island	13.3 square kilometres (5 sq mi)