Kangaroo Island - Karta Pintingga - means 'The Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people' and is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It's in the state of South Australia,112 km (70 mi) southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Point in the Backstairs Passage, which is 13.5 km (8.4 mi) from the Fleurieu Peninsula. From east to west, Kangaroo Island is 150kms in length and from north to south 40kms in width.
The native population of Aboriginal Australians that once occupied the island disappeared sometime after it was created by rising sea levels in the Last Glacial Period around 10,000 years ago. It was subsequently settled by sealers and whalers in the early 19th century, and from 1836 on a permanent basis during the British colonisation of South Australia.
Since then the island's economy has been principally agricultural, with a southern rock lobster fishery and with tourism growing in importance. The largest town, and the administrative centre, is Kingscote. The island has several nature reserves to protect the remnants of its natural vegetation and native animals, with the largest and best-known being Flinders Chase National Park at the western end.
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