The Dales (Christmas Island)

For the BBC radio soap opera, see Mrs Dale's Diary.

Designations

Ramsar Wetland

Official name| The Dales, Christmas Island
Designated| 21 October 2002
Reference no.| 1225[1]

The Dales is a wetland site located at the western end of Christmas Island, an Australian external territory in the eastern Indian Ocean. The site has been recognised as being of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

## History

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The Dales were the first location where Europeans set foot on Christmas Island in 1688, during the expedition of William Dampier. Nowadays the Dales are visited by local residents and tourists for sightseeing. One of the subsites, Hugh's Dale, has religious significance for Buddhists of Chinese background.[2]

## Description

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The site comprises a system of seven watercourses within the Christmas Island National Park, including permanent and perennial streams, permanent springs, the Hugh's Dale waterfall, and most of the surface water on the island.[2] The site is set within tropical rainforest and adjoins the coast. The streams originate from groundwater seepages and flow into the ocean having, over time, worn gullies into the coastal cliffs.[3] It was designated on 21 October 2002 as Ramsar Site 1225, and is the first Australian Ramsar site to contain both surface and subterranean karst features.[2] Area of Ramsar site is about 57 ha. It was also listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia prior to 2001.[4]

Interesting geological features of the Dales are travertine and rimstone formations of Hugh's Dale and the gully of Sydney's Dale, which closer at the sea gets up to 12 m deep and 9 m wide.

## Flora and fauna

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The site contains a unique stand of enormous Tahitian chestnut trees. Sydney Dale is a recorded site for the critically endangered endemic fern, the Christmas Island spleenwort. The various wetland types of the Dales support populations of endemic and threatened animals, including the Christmas Island hawk-owl, Christmas Island goshawk, Abbott's booby, Christmas Island shrew and the Christmas Island blind snake. Coastline habitats within the site provide breeding and spawning grounds for red and blue crabs. 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.

## Access

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The road to the site's car-park is for 4WD vehicles only. There are walking tracks from the car-park to Hugh's Dale and Anderson's Dale, with interpretive signage for visitors.[3]

## References

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### Notes

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1. ^ "The Dales, Christmas Island". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
2. ^ a b c d Annotated Ramsar List.
3. ^ a b Blowholes, beaches... etc.
4. ^ Eyles et al, 2001, pages 117 & 120

### Sources

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* "The Dales, Christmas Island". The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
* "Blowholes, beaches and other highlights of Christmas Island". Traveldudes. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
* Eyles, Kathy; Larmour, Geoff; Young, Sarah; Australia. Environment Australia; Natural Heritage Trust (Australia). National Wetlands Program (2001). A Directory of important wetlands in Australia (PDF) (3rd ed.). Environment Australia. ISBN 978-0-642-54721-7.

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Ramsar sites in Australia

Australian Capital Territory|

* Ginini Flats

New South Wales|

* Blue Lake
* Central Murray Forests
* Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps
* Gwydir Wetlands
* Hunter Estuary Wetlands
* Lake Pinaroo
* Little Llangothlin Lagoon
* Macquarie Marshes
* Myall Lakes
* Narran Wetlands
* Paroo Wetlands
* Towra Point

Northern Territory|

* Cobourg Peninsula
* Kakadu National Park

Queensland|

* Bowling Green Bay
* Currawinya Lakes
* Great Sandy Strait
* Moreton Bay
* Shoalwater Bay

South Australia|

* Banrock Station Wetland Complex
* Bool and Hacks Lagoons
* Coongie Lakes
* Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Wetland
* Piccaninnie Ponds
* Riverland

Tasmania|

* Apsley Marshes
* Cape Barren Island east coast lagoons
* Interlaken Lakeside Reserve
* Jocks Lagoon
* Lavinia
* Little Waterhouse Lake
* Logan Lagoon
* Lower Ringarooma River
* Moulting Lagoon
* Pittwater–Orielton Lagoon

Victoria|

* Barmah Forest
* Corner Inlet
* Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands
* Gippsland Lakes
* Gunbower Forest
* Hattah-Kulkyne Lakes
* Kerang Wetlands
* Lake Albacutya
* Port Phillip Bay and Bellarine Peninsula
* Western District Lakes
* Western Port Bay

Western Australia|

* Becher Point Wetlands
* Eighty Mile Beach
* Forrestdale and Thomsons Lakes
* Lake Gore
* Lake Warden System
* Lakes Argyle and Kununurra
* Muir-Byenup System
* Ord River Floodplain
* Peel-Yalgorup System
* Roebuck Bay
* Toolibin Lake
* Vasse-Wonnerup System

External territories|

* Ashmore Reef
* Coral Sea Reserves
* The Dales (Christmas Island)
* Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs
* Hosnies Spring (Christmas Island)
* Pulu Keeling

10°28′S 105°33′E﻿ / ﻿10.467°S 105.550°E﻿ / -10.467; 105.550

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