Eyre Peninsula

Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges . It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by Matthew Flinders in 1801-1802. The west coast was also visited by Nicolas Baudin at around the same time.

The main towns are Port Lincoln on the southern point, Whyalla and Port Augusta at the north east, and Ceduna at the northwest. They are connected by the Eyre Highway across the inland edge, and the Flinders Highway and Lincoln Highway along the west and east coasts.

The major industry is farming - cereal crops, sheep, and cattle in the drier north and more water-intensive activities such as dairy farming and a growing wine industry in the south. Many coastal towns have commercial fishing, in particular Port Lincoln, had a large tuna-fishing fleet, which is gradually being converted to fish farming in bays along the coast.

There is a commercial nephrite jade mine near Cowell . Iron ore is mined in the hills near Iron Knob inland from Whyalla, to where it is transported by rail for smelting.

In January 2005, the Eyre Peninsula was the site of Australia's deadliest bushfire in 20 years, killing at least 8 people.