Lake Macquarie, New South Wales

Lake Macquarie Awaba
View from Swansea showing Pulbah Island
Location	Hunter Region, New South Wales
Coordinates	33°05′S 151°35′E / 33.083°S 151.583°E / -33.083; 151.583Coordinates: 33°05′S 151°35′E / 33.083°S 151.583°E / -33.083; 151.583
Type	An open and trained youthful wave dominated barrier estuary
Primary inflows	Cockle Creek, Dora Creek
Primary outflows	Tasman Sea
Catchment area	604.4 km2 (233.4 sq mi)
Basin countries	Australia
Max. length	24 km (14.9 mi)
Max. width	7.9 km (4.9 mi)
Surface area	110 km2 (42.5 sq mi)
Average depth	8 m (26 ft)
Max. depth	15 m (49 ft)
Shore length1	174 km (108.1 mi)
Surface elevation	0 AHD
Frozen	never
Islands	Pulbah Island plus several small islands
Settlements	City of Lake Macquarie
Website	Lake Macquarie at the Office of Environment & Heritage
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Pulbah Island Nature Reserve New South Wales
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
Photo showing the northern side of Pulbah Island
Pulbah Island Nature Reserve
Nearest town or city	Lake Macquarie
Coordinates	33°05′34″S 151°35′24″E / 33.09278°S 151.59000°E / -33.09278; 151.59000
Established	July 1970 (1970-07)
Area	68 ha (168 acres)
Visitation	Restricted
Website	Pulbah Island Nature Reserve
See also	Protected areas of New South Wales

External image

Pulbah Island photos

Lake Macquarie or Awaba is Australia's largest coastal salt water lagoon. Located in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, it covers an area of 110 square kilometres (42.5 sq mi) and is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Most of the residents of the City of Lake Macquarie live near the shores of the lake.

Lake Macquarie is twice as large as Sydney Harbour and is one of the largest salt water lagoons in the Southern Hemisphere. It is slightly smaller than Port Stephens, which is about 43 kilometres (27 mi) to the northeast of the lake.

Aboriginal people of the Awabakal nation lived in the area surrounding what is now known as Lake Macquarie for thousands of years. The name Awaba, which means "a plain surface" was used to describe the lake.

Lake Macquarie was first encountered by Europeans in 1800, when Captain William Reid, who had been sent from Sydney to retrieve a load of coal from Newcastle Harbour. Reid took a wrong turn and found himself in a lake rather than a river, with no coal to be seen anywhere. The name "Reid's Mistake" was retained until 1826, when it was renamed in honour of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

The lake is of irregular shape and the land separating it from the ocean is only a few kilometres wide along most of its length. While there are a several small, sandy, low-level islets in the lake, some of which are grouped near the mouth, Pulbah Island, located south of Swansea is a large island offering views from rocky cliffs.

Lake Macquarie is connected to the sea by Swansea Channel and Lakes Entrance. Swansea Channel is approximately 380 metres (1,247 ft) wide and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long. It joins Lakes Entrance, a small bay measuring approximately 900 m (2,953 ft) wide by 2.2 km (1.4 mi) at the Swansea bridges. The bridges can lift to allow yachts and other larger pleasure craft into and out of the lake.