Torres Strait forms the northern gateway between Australia and Papua New Guinea near the Great Barrier Reef.
The strait lies between Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and the southern coast of Papua New Guinea. It contains hundreds of islands and reefs, although only some are permanently inhabited. Its shallow, complex waters connect the Arafura Sea with the Coral Sea and are important for navigation, fishing, biodiversity, and Indigenous communities.
The northern Great Barrier Reef approaches the Torres Strait but does not extend across the international boundary into Papua New Guinea. This makes the strait a useful geographic reference when describing the reef’s northern setting.
Torres Strait is often confused with Bass Strait, which separates mainland Australia from Tasmania in the south. Cook Strait is in New Zealand, while Dampier Strait is in Indonesia. Each is a real strait, but only Torres Strait matches this northeastern Australian location.