Port
Jackson (top) and Port Hacking connected
to Botany Bay (bottom)Port Jackson is
one of three arms extending from the single
entrance (known as Sydney Heads). North
Harbour is the shortest, and is really
just a large bay extending to Manly. Middle
Harbour extends to the north-west. It
is bridged at The Spit and Roseville.
Its headwaters lie in Garigal National
Park. The longest arm, officially known
as Port Jackson, extends west as far as
Balmain, where it is fed by the estuaries
of the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers.
Port Jackson is bridged by the Sydney
Harbour Bridge and the ANZAC Bridge (formerly
known as the Glebe Island Bridge). One
tunnel, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel passes
underneath the Harbour, to the east of
the bridge, and in 2005 it was proposed
that a third harbour crossing, this time
a railway line, be constructed to the
west of the bridge. The harbour is heavily
embayed.
The
bays on the south side tend to be wide
and rounded, whereas those on the north
side are generally narrow inlets. Sydney's
central business district begins at Circular
Quay, a small bay on the south side that
has, over time, had its semi-circle reclaimed
by land to the point where it is a rectangular
quay. The northern side of the harbour
is mainly used for residential purposes.
There are several islands within the harbour,
including Shark Island, Clarke Island,
Fort Denison, Goat Island, Cockatoo Island,
Spectacle Island, Snapper Island and Rodd
Island. Some other former islands, including
Bennelong Island and Garden Island, have
subsequently been linked to the shore
by land reclamation. Port Jackson from
a helicopterIn Australia the size of many
bodies of water are referenced back to
the size of Sydney Harbour, that is a
body of water x is y times the size of
the Sydney Harbour. For example: Lake
Argyle, the Ord river dam and Australia's
largest lake, is variously described as
"18 times that of Sydney Harbour",
"8-13 times the size the volume of
Sydney Harbour.", and "nine
times the size of Sydney Harbour".
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