Geography of Port Phillip

Port Phillip Bay in the distance, viewed from the Rialto Towers observation deck in Melbourne's city centre, with the Yarra River intersecting between the bay and the city.

Port Phillip, sometimes referred to as Port Phillip Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia, 1,930 km² (476,900 acres) in area, with a coastline length of 264 km (164 mi). The bay is extremely shallow for its size, but mostly navigable. The deepest portion is only 24 m (80 ft), and half the region is shallower than 8 m. Its volume is around 25 km³. The city of Melbourne is located at its northern end, near the mouth of the Yarra River.

Port Phillip is home to a vast array of geographic features typically found in bays, such as beaches, points, islands and smaller bays, as well as being the drainage point of many major rivers and creeks in Central Victoria. All features here are listed clockwise from the mouth of the Yarra River.

Beacon Cove beach and exclusive apartments in Port Melbourne

Beaches

Port Phillip hosts many beaches, most of which are flat, shallow and long, with very small breaks making swimming quite safe. This attracts many tourists, mostly families, to the beaches of Port Phillip during the summer months and school holidays. Water sports such as body boarding and surfing are difficult or impossible, except in extreme weather conditions. Most sandy beaches are located on the bay's northern, eastern and southern shorelines, while the western shorelines host a few sandy beaches, there mostly exists a greater variety of beaches, swampy wetlands and mangroves. The occasional pebble beach and rocky cliffs can also be found, mostly in the southern reaches. Major beaches include:

View of St. Kilda Beach from a short pier. (2009)

Landforms

Islands and reefs

Great Sand
Middle Ground
South Sand
Popes Eye Bank
Middle Sand
William Sand
West Sand

Points

Point Ormond near Elwood, Victoria (2009)

Bays

Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron's Starter's Tower St. Kilda Breakwater. (2009)
Greenwich Bay
Beacon Cove
Keefers Cove
Pebble Cove
Martha Cove
Camerons Bight
Sullivan Bay
Sorrento Bay
The Bend
Corio Bay
Stingaree Bay
Steampacket Quay
Corio Quay
Limeburners' Bay
Shelley Bay

Confluents

Other features

Marine Parks

References

  1. 1 2 "The Sisters". themorningtonpeninsula.com. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
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