What is the Great Barrier Reef’s northernmost island group at the entrance to Torres Strait?

The northernmost island group at the entrance to Torres Strait is the Torres Strait Islands.

The Torres Strait Islands lie between the tip of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea. They occupy a strategically and ecologically important passage connecting the Coral Sea with the Arafura Sea. The northern Great Barrier Reef region approaches this island-studded waterway, although the reef’s exact boundaries and the Torres Strait’s cultural and administrative geography are distinct subjects.

The islands are home to Torres Strait Islander peoples, whose cultures, languages, histories, and sea-country traditions are central to the region. The communities are not simply a geographic marker; they are long-standing custodians of marine and coastal environments.

The Whitsunday, Palm, and Keppel island groups lie much farther south along the Queensland coast. Confusing them with the Torres Strait Islands can place a location hundreds of kilometres from the reef’s northern end. Cape York and the Torres Strait are therefore useful reference points when describing the reef’s northern setting.