Curiously Named Locales: Useless Loop, Western Australia, Australia

 

Photo credit: Mark Gray markgray.com.au

    A few miles from the westernmost point on the continent of Australia, lies a solar salt farm off Shark Bay that produces what is claimed to be the purest grade of salt in the world. A closed company town, Useless Loop is the location of the Shark Bay Salt Pty Ltd. The accumulation of purified salt harvested from the shallow ocean beds is large enough that it is visible across the Bay in Denham, some 14 miles away.  In 1989, the town received an award for a preservation and relocation project for three endangered Australian mammals: the burrowing bettong, the western barred bandicoot, and the greater stick-nest rat. 

    The town takes part of its name from French explorer Henri-Louis de Saulces de Freycinet, who sailed with the Baudin expedition to Australia, which was then called New Holland. Believing that a large sandbar was blocking access for ships, de Freycinet dubbed the place Havre Inutile or Useless Harbor. The cove has since been transformed into the solar salt farm pictured above.

editor's note: while researching the Useless Loop and its salt production, I came across a unusual measurement for tons. A little further digging revealed the three types of tons:

 - a short, or USA ton which weighs 2,000 lbs

 - a metric tonne is 2,204 lbs (or 1,000 kilograms)

 - a long, or Imperial, or British ton equals 2,240 lbs

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useless_Loop,_Western_Australia
https://maps.roadtrippers.com/au/wa/attractions/useless-loop
https://www.markgray.com.au/gallery/limited-edition-prints/pastels.php

https://www.australiantraveller.com/australia/weirdest-named-places-in-australia/

https://monmouthrubber.com/what-is-the-difference-between-the-three-different-types-of-ton-short-ton-long-ton-and-metric-ton/