Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,671km²
Area
554km
Coastline
29m
Highest point
1,640
People
30°C
Warmest sea
December
54km
To the mainland
When to go to Bathurst Island
Best for the beach from June to September.
The sea is warmest in December (30 °C) and coolest in August (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island off the Northern Australian coast
Bathurst Island is an island in Australia. It covers 1,671 km², with 554 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 29 m. About 1,640 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 54 km away.
Getting there
- Snake Bay Airport (SNB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 42 km in a straight lineCar hire at DRW airport (Darwin)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 54 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Bathurst Island.
- 97beaches
- 1lighthouses
- 4named peaksPenguin Hill, Moonga Hill, Radar Hill and 1 more
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Bathurst Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Bathurst Island, each with its own numbers.
5beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
30.6°C
Waniunga Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
5 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Waniunga Beach30.6°C
- Wangiti Beach30.4°C
- Rinamatta Beach30.4°C
- Tientebei Beach30.6°C
- Wanyanga Beach30.6°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 26 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 86 %0–50 m
- 14 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Wurrumiyanga1,567 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 30 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| Sea (°C) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Rain (mm) | 332 | 262 | 241 | 119 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 31 | 76 | 249 |
| Wet days | 29 | 25 | 26 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 27 |
| Sun h/day | 5.0 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.9 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 13 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.6 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +1.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.4 | −0.3 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.5 | −0.3 |
| 2023 | −0.4 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.4 | −0.4 | +0.6 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | −0.1 |
| 2025 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +0.3 | −0.5 | −0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.5 | −0.3 | −0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.

Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q810814) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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