Lake Macquarie (New South Wales)
| Lake Macquarie Awaba |
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View from Swansea showing Pulbah Island
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| Location | Hunter Region, New South Wales () |
| Coordinates | 33°05′S 151°35′E / 33.083°S 151.583°ECoordinates: 33°05′S 151°35′E / 33.083°S 151.583°E |
| 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 m (0 ft) AHD |
| Frozen | never |
| Islands | Pulbah Island plus several small islands |
| Settlements | City of Lake Macquarie |
| Website |
www |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
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Pulbah Island Nature Reserve New South Wales |
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IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
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Photo showing the northern side of Pulbah Island
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 Pulbah Island Nature Reserve
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| Nearest town or city | Lake Macquarie |
| Coordinates | 33°05′34″S 151°35′24″E / 33.09278°S 151.59000°E |
| Established | July 1970 |
| Area | 68 ha (168 acres) |
| Visitation | Restricted |
| Website | Pulbah Island Nature Reserve |
| See also | Protected areas of New South Wales |
 Pulbah Island photos
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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.
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Wikipedia