Which gulf in South Australia lies east of the Eyre Peninsula?

The gulf in South Australia that lies east of the Eyre Peninsula is Spencer Gulf. It is the western and larger of South Australia’s two major southern inlets, with the smaller Gulf St Vincent on the other side of Yorke Peninsula.

Spencer Gulf runs for about 320 kilometres from its mouth to Port Augusta. The Eyre Peninsula forms its western shore, while Yorke Peninsula forms much of its eastern side. Its entrance is marked by a line between Cape Catastrophe on the Eyre Peninsula and Cape Spencer on Yorke Peninsula.

Matthew Flinders made the first recorded exploration of the gulf in February 1802. On 20 March that year, he named it Spencer’s Gulph after George John Spencer, the second Earl Spencer. French expeditions later used alternative names, including Golfe Bonaparte, but Flinders’s name became the lasting English form.

Spencer Gulf is also notable for marine life. Its waters include the world’s largest known breeding aggregation of giant cuttlefish, while little penguins, seals, dolphins, and seasonal whales are also found around the gulf.