Torres Strait
Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after Spanish navigator Torres.
The Torres Strait, also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is 150 km wide at its narrowest extent, linking the Coral Sea to the east with the Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria to the west. Named by Scottish geographer Alexander Dalrymple after Spanish navigator Luís Vaz de Torres, who sailed through it in 1606, the strait is an important international sea lane, though shallow and hazardous due to reefs and strong tidal currents.
- width
- 150 km (93 mi) at narrowest
- depth
- 7 to 15 m (23 to 49 ft)
- named_by
- Alexander Dalrymple
- named_after
- Luís Vaz de Torres
- first_recorded_european_navigation
- 1606 by Luís Vaz de Torres
- number_of_islands
- at least 274
- inhabited_islands
- 17 with permanent settlements
Lore & Background
The Torres Strait has been inhabited by humans for at least 2,500 years, with Torres Strait Islander communities maintaining maritime trade and cultural diffusion with Papuans and Australian Aboriginal peoples. The first recorded European navigation was by Luís Vaz de Torres in 1606, though he did not sight the Australian mainland. In 1769, Alexander Dalrymple discovered Torres's testimony while translating Spanish documents, named the strait, and published accounts that aroused interest in an unknown continent. James Cook later charted the eastern Australian coastline in 1770 after rounding Cape York.
Reader's Guide
The Torres Strait is significant as a cultural and maritime crossroads, linking Australia and Papua New Guinea. Its indigenous inhabitants, the Torres Strait Islanders, have a unique culture distinct from both Papuans and Aboriginal Australians. The strait's discovery by Torres enabled later European exploration, including Cook's expedition. The 1985 Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea defines sovereignty and maritime boundaries, establishing a Protected Zone for sustainable resource management and protection of traditional livelihoods. Environmental concerns include mining waste from the Fly River and sustainable management of natural resources. The strait also experiences occasional asylum seeker arrivals from Papua New Guinea.
Did You Know?
- The Torres Strait is also known as Zenadh Kes, a name adopted in the 1980s from an acronym derived from local words for south, north, place, coastline, and passage.
- In 1823, Captain John Lihou became the first to navigate a ship through the Torres Strait from west to east, losing four anchors and the rudder in the process.
- The strait contains some of the most extensive seagrass beds in the world, along with about 580 coral reefs covering 2,400 km².
- In 1959, Australian Michael 'Tarzan' Fomenko paddled a homemade dugout canoe from Queensland to New Guinea through the Torres Strait, gaining widespread media attention.
More in Straits, Channels, And Seas 1-24
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