| Lake Illawarra | |
|---|---|
| Viewed from Mount Kembla | |
| Location | Illawarra, New South Wales |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Lake type | Coastal saltwater lagoon |
| Primary inflows | Macquarie Rivulet, Mullet Creek |
| Primary outflows | Tom Thumb Entrance |
| Catchment area | 270 km2 (100 sq mi)[2] |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Surface area | 36.3 km2 (14.0 sq mi)[2] |
| Max. depth | 3 m (9.8 ft)[2] |
| Surface elevation | 0.3 m (1 ft 0 in)[2] |
| Frozen | never |
| Settlements | Wollongong |
| References | [1][2] |
Lake Illawarra is a large coastal lagoon[3] located in the city of Wollongong about 100 km south of Sydney, New South Wales.
The lake receives runoff from the Illawarra escarpment through Macquarie Rivulet and Mullet Creek, and has a narrow tidal entrance to the sea at Windang. It is shallow with an average depth of 2–3 metres.
Located in the Wollongong urban area, Lake Illawarra is popular for recreational fishing, prawning and sailing. It is vulnerable to pollution and urban run-off, and is used as a source of cooling water for Tallawarra Power Station on the western shore.
Birds found at the lake include pelicans, cormorants, musk ducks, hoary headed grebes, black swans, black ducks, grey teal ducks, herons, ibises and spoonbills.[4]
Matthew Flinders and George Bass called the lake Tom Thumb's Lagoon on Flinders' chart, named after their little boat the Tom Thumb, when they were there in March 1796. The book "Lake Illawarra: an ongoing history" by Joseph Davis was published by the Lake Illawarra Authority in 2005 and provides a wide-ranging environmental and historical 'biography' of the Lake and its foreshores. It also contains many images and photographs depicting the lake.[5][6]
On 12 January 2009, it is suspected a man was bitten by a bull shark whilst snorkelling at Windang near the mouth of Lake Illawarra.