Geography
The entrance to Broken Bay lies between the northern Box Head and Barrenjoey Head to the south. Barrenjoey Lighthouse was constructed in 1881 to guide ships away from the prominent headland. The bay comprises three arms, being the prominent estuary of the Hawkesbury River in the west, Pittwater to the south, and Brisbane Water to the north. These three arms are flooded rivers (rias) formed at a time when the sea level was much lower than it is at the present day.
The Hawkesbury River flows from the confluence of the Grose and Nepean Rivers at the base of the Blue Mountains.
Pittwater extends south from Broken Bay and is the northernmost extent of the greater Sydney area. Pittwater's calm waters make it a popular sailing area. West Head, west of Barrenjoey Head, marks the divide between Pittwater and the Hawkesbury.
Brisbane Water is the northern arm of Broken Bay and has the towns of Gosford and Woy Woy on its shores.
Lion Island, named for its profile's resemblance to a Sphinx from some viewpoints, is located at the entrance of Broken Bay. Lion Island Nature Reserve covers the entire island, and is home to a colony of fairy penguins.
Read more about this topic: Broken Bay
Famous quotes containing the word geography:
“Where the heart is, there the muses, there the gods sojourn, and not in any geography of fame. Massachusetts, Connecticut River, and Boston Bay, you think paltry places, and the ear loves names of foreign and classic topography. But here we are; and, if we tarry a little, we may come to learn that here is best. See to it, only, that thyself is here;—and art and nature, hope and fate, friends, angels, and the Supreme Being, shall not absent from the chamber where thou sittest.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Yet America is a poem in our eyes; its ample geography dazzles the imagination, and it will not wait long for metres.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.”
—Derek Wall (b. 1965)