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Man's intervention, over the centuries, has drawn boundaries and shaped landscapes. He changed the face of nature, transformed the landscapes. But there are places that have never changed their appearance. And those are the places to go if you want to do something journey into the past. And peek the face that the Earth had, when man was not there to inhabit it - yet.
Shark Bay, in Western Australia, is one of those places. Its islands and its nature are a glimpse of ancient times, with the largest and richest seaweed expanses on the entire planet (4.800 square kilometers), its population of sirenii (herbivorous aquatic mammals) and stromalotitis, sedimentary structures finely laminated by the activity of photosynthetic benthic microorganisms, which are among the oldest forms of life on Earth.
On the Indian Ocean, at the westernmost point of the Australian continent, Shark Bay occupies an area of 2.2 million hectares, 70% composed of water. Beyond the exceptional nature and beauty of the panorama, however, what makes this place an incredible place is its nature, together with one of the richest marine life in the world. Visiting the area is like taking a step back in time. And not in the recent past, but in the Earth from millions of years ago. The stromalotites are considered gods living fossils, and it is – Shark Bay – one of the few marine areas in the world to be dominated by carbonates, but in the absence of corals that make up the coral reef: this has led to the formation of one of the largest algae meadows in the world, and the effect is alienating.
The hydrological structure of the area has also produced a basin in which the marine waters are hypersaline (the salt level here is almost double that of "normal" sea water), and has contributed to the formation of vast beaches made up entirely of shells. A visit to Shark Bay is truly incredible. And it is one of those experiences destined to be preserved forever, in the eyes and in the heart.
