5 ms·

Australia was also settled during a glacial maximum so the coastline extended out much further than now. The distance the first migrants to Australia might hav

• flukus 10y ago
  A few things to keep in mind: 1. Australia was probably settled well before the Glacial maximum. 2. We don't know much about the coastline, a rocky, volcanic island wouldn't have been a great help to the migrators. 3. They islands they had to go through is a geographically active region (it's possible some people in the migration witnessed the Toba eruption), so knowing where the coastlines were is difficult. 4. Is there a standard for what's considered open ocean? I would consider 45Km to be included, but then again, I would consider grater than 0.1Km to be open ocean.
  • jacalata 10y ago
    4. Yes, but it varies by domain. I think the military definition is the more useful one here: https://definedterm.com/open_ocean https://definedterm.com/open_ocean There are rivers over 100m wide so I don't think that would fit most people's definition.
  • sandworm101 10y ago
    The definition of "open ocean" in my area is that part of the sea unconstrained by the effects of land masses, ie open. It's where waves are defined by wind alone, without any obvious influence of land or shallow. Another version would be those areas where ships may navigate freely without worry of obstructions. That would mean, for sail, that some areas are open or not based on the direction of the wind.