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Landsat 9 Sees Buccaneer Archipelago

Landsat 9 Sees Buccaneer Archipelago

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A satellite image shows brown-red, jagged land in the bottom-right corner jutting into blue-green water. Numerous islands dot the rest of the scene. The water appears to swirl around the islands. Some of the coastal areas are dotted with green.

In the sparsely populated Kimberley region of Western Australia, jagged landforms reach like fingers into the turquoise-blue ocean waters. Along the coastline north of Derby, they used to reach even farther. But rising sea levels submerged part of the coastal landscape, giving rise to hundreds of islands and low-lying reefs that compose the Buccaneer Archipelago.

NASA/Michala Garrison; U.S. Geological Survey

The Operational Land Imager on Landsat 9 captured this image of Buccaneer Archipelago on June 11, 2025. The scene encapsulates the striking interactions between land and water in the area where King Sound opens to the Indian Ocean.

The powerful tidal currents stir up sediment in shallow areas, producing the beautiful turquoise swirls visible in this image. This power, however, can be hazardous to seafarers and divers as water rips through the archipelago’s constricted passages. One infamous place of turbulence, known as “Hell’s Gate,” lies in the passage between Gerald Peninsula and Muddle Islands.

Learn more about this archipelago in Western Australia.

Text credit: Kathryn Hansen

Image credit: NASA/Michala Garrison; U.S. Geological Survey

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