The bay in Western Australia known for stromatolites and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site is Shark Bay.
Shark Bay lies on Western Australia's central coast, about 800 kilometres north of Perth. Its World Heritage Area was inscribed in 1991 because of its exceptional marine ecosystems, seagrass meadows, dugongs, bottlenose dolphins, and geological features. The area includes several islands, peninsulas, shallow lagoons, and hypersaline waters.
The famous stromatolites occur at Hamelin Pool, where colonies of cyanobacteria trap and bind sediment into layered structures. These formations resemble rocks, but they are living microbial communities and offer a window into the kind of life that dominated Earth's shallow seas billions of years ago. Hamelin Pool has unusually salty water, which limits grazing animals and allows the stromatolites to flourish.
A common mix-up is confusing Shark Bay with nearby Ningaloo Coast, another major Western Australian marine destination. Shark Bay is also associated with Monkey Mia, where Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins are regularly observed near shore.