Yampi Sound is a part of the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 off the coast of northwestern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, located between King Sound

King Sound

King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about 120 km long, and averages about 50 km in width. The port town of Derby lies near the mouth of the...

 and Collier Bay

Collier Bay

Collier Bay is a natural bay off the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.-References:...

. The islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago

Buccaneer Archipelago

The Buccaneer Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia near the town of Derby in the Kimberley region. The closest inhabited place is Bardi located about from the western end of the island group....

, located in the sound, contain rich silver and iron ore deposits. The high grade iron ore deposits has been mined in the Sound since the 1950s. A copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mine also operated at Coppermine Creek on the mainland side of the sound.

Many creeks discharge directly into the sound including Coppermine Creek, Crocodile Creek, Silvergull Creek and Dogleg Creek.

The Sound contains many islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago

Buccaneer Archipelago

The Buccaneer Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia near the town of Derby in the Kimberley region. The closest inhabited place is Bardi located about from the western end of the island group....

 the largest being Koolan Island

Koolan Island

Koolan Island is an island off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago. It is about 1,900 km north of Perth, and about 130 km north of Derby...

; others include: Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island (Western Australia)

Cockatoo Island is an island in the Buccaneer Archipelago off the coast of Western Australia near the town of Broome.Iron ore mining began at Cockatoo Island in 1951. BHP operated the mine in the early 1950s and ran it as a complete town site until 1984 when the ore body had been mined to sea level...

, Irvine Island, Bathurst Island, Finch Islands, Hidden Island, Baylis Islands and Iron Islands.

The sound was named in 1838 by Commander John Lort Stokes

John Lort Stokes

Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN was an officer in the Royal Navy who travelled on HMS Beagle for close to eighteen years.Stokes grew up in Scotchwell near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He joined the Navy on 20 September 1824...

 who named Yampee Point, Yampee being the local Indigenous peoples word for water.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, several raids were launched against the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese forces in Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

 and Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 using Catalina

PBY Catalina

The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...

 Flying Boats by the RAAF from Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island (Western Australia)

Cockatoo Island is an island in the Buccaneer Archipelago off the coast of Western Australia near the town of Broome.Iron ore mining began at Cockatoo Island in 1951. BHP operated the mine in the early 1950s and ran it as a complete town site until 1984 when the ore body had been mined to sea level...

 in Yampi Sound.

The Australian Defence Force

Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...

has maintained a training facility at Yampi Sound since the 1970s.