Description
Bathurst Harbour is a large, rectangular, almost landlocked body of water located in the southwest corner of Tasmania. The harbour is surrounded by low-lying alluvial plains with mountain ranges running along the western and eastern shores. The North River, Old River, Ray River and Melaleuca Creek all drain into the harbour either directly or into one of the many off-shoot bays and inlets connected to the harbour.
Almost all of the harbour is navigable by sailing vessels with no submerged rocks or navigational hazards except for a small area around Black Swan Island at Old Bay in the harbours north. Of the 4 main inflows only Melaleuca Creek is truly navigable and maintains a depth in excess of 2–3 meters for more than 6.5 km upstream of "Claytons Corner" which provides marine access to Melaleuca. With the exception of the waters around the harbour entrance, most of the harbour has a relatively flat seabed with an average depth of 7m. As with almost all of the estuarine system including the Bathurst Channel, the seabed falls sharply from the shore before hitting the level floor of the harbour which forms a gently sloping basin of mud and gravel with a maximum depth of 9.1m near Dixon Island. Waters within a 2–3 km radius of the harbour entrance vary greatly in depth with 3 deep channels branching out from the entrance leaving deep shoals in between at a depth of 5m. The true deepest point in the harbour is where the 3 channels meet between Platypus Point and Nixon Point which reaches 29m due to the dredging action of the tide.
Bathurst Harbour, like the rest of the Bathurst Channel, is a ria formation caused by the inundation of a large valley and its associated alluvial plains. The glacially carved landscape of the region has resulted in the shape of the estuarine system being greatly different to other ria formations around Tasmania such as the Derwent Estuary, instead bearing close resemblance to artificial impoundments like Lake Pedder, 30 km to the north.
Bathurst Harbour is one of only 2 places in the world where the Maugean Skate, endemic to Tasmania, has been reported from. The main population is found in similar habitats in Macquarie Harbour to the north.
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