Hamelin Pool

About this place

Hamelin Pool is a marine nature reserve in UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shark Bay, in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, about 61 km southeast of the town of Denham in a straight line. It holds the most diverse and abundant examples of living marine stromatolites in the world. Stromatolites are rock-like structures built by tiny organisms called cyanobacteria, among the oldest forms of photosynthetic life on Earth. They resemble fossils 3,500 million years old found in many places. Surveyors working for an oil exploration company found them here in 1956, the first living examples known. The bay's water is about twice as salty as normal seawater, which suits the stromatolites and keeps out much other marine life. The reserve covers 1,270 square kilometres and is named after the French naval officer Jacques Hamelin. The stromatolites look like dark, rounded cushions scattered through clear shallow water near the shore, rising above the surface at low tide. Calm turquoise water stretches behind them, with a beach of white shells. Visitors arrive by Hamelin Pool Road and through the grounds of the historic telegraph station, and access is free. A boardwalk protects the fragile structures, so never walk on them. Low tide is best for viewing, and summer heat is intense.