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Geography of Port Phillip

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Port Phillip Bay in the distance, viewed from the Rialto Towers observation deck in Melbourne's city centre, with the Yarra River intersecting between the bay and the city.

Port Phillip, sometimes referred to as Port Phillip Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia, 1,930 km2 (476,900 acres) in area, with a coastline length of 264 km (164 mi). The bay is extremely shallow for its size, but mostly navigable. The deepest portion is only 24 m (80 ft), and half the region is shallower than 8 m. Its volume is around 25 km3. The city of Melbourne is located at its northern end, near the mouth of the Yarra River.

Port Phillip is home to a vast array of geographic features typically found in bays, such as beaches, points, islands and smaller bays, as well as being the drainage point of many major rivers and creeks in Central Victoria. All features here are listed clockwise from the mouth of the Yarra River.

Beacon Cove beach and exclusive apartments in Port Melbourne

Beaches

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View of St. Kilda Beach from a short pier. (2009)
View of St Kilda Beach and pier

Port Phillip hosts many beaches, most of which are flat, shallow and long, with very small breaks making swimming quite safe. This attracts many tourists, mostly families, to the beaches of Port Phillip during the summer months and school holidays. Water sports such as body boarding and surfing are difficult or impossible, except in extreme weather conditions. Most sandy beaches are located on the bay's northern, eastern and southern shorelines, while the western shorelines host a few sandy beaches, there mostly exists a greater variety of beaches, swampy wetlands and mangroves. The occasional pebble beach and rocky cliffs can also be found, mostly in the southern reaches. Major beaches include:

Hobsons Bay

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In Hobsons Bay there are:

West Beach - St Kilda West

Between Hobsons and Beaumaris Bays

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Elwood Beach and Port Philip
Point Ormond near Elwood, Victoria (2009)
Watkins Bay Beach
Keefers Cove Beach

Beaumaris Bay

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The beach at Aspendale has several colourful beach huts.
Port Phillip as seen from Olivers Hill, Frankston on the eastern shore of the bay

In Beaumaris Bay there are:

Long Island Beach

Between Beaumaris and Dromana Bays

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Canadian Bay Beach
Mills Beach East
Fosters Slip

Dromana Bay

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Anthonys Nose Beach - Dromana

Capel Sound

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Rye Beach East
Rye Beach West

Corio Bay

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In Corio Bay there are:

Between Corio and Altona Bays

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Much of this coastline is undeveloped and is occupied by either military facilities or the Western Treatment Plant.

Altona Bay

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Landforms

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Islands and reefs

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Great Sand
Middle Ground
South Sand
Popes Eye Bank
Middle Sand
William Sand
West Sand

Points

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Point Ormond near Elwood, Victoria (2009)

Bays

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The following is a list of bays, sorted in a clockwise direction, from the mouth, west to east.

Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron's Starter's Tower St. Kilda Breakwater, 2009
Bay mouth
Near Geelong
  • Swan Bay (very shallow at low tide)
  • Salt Lagoon
  • Hood Bight
  • Half Moon Bay (Indented Head)
  • Outer Harbour
  • Stingaree Bight
  • The Spit
Near Werribee
  • Campbells Cove
  • Altona Bay
    • Shelley Bay
Near Port Melbourne / Albert Park / St Kilda / Black Rock
Near Mordialloc / Bonbeach / Frankstown
On the Mornington Peninsula
  • Daveys Bay
  • Half Moon Bay (Mount Eliza)
  • Canadian Bay
  • Mornington Bay
  • Dromana Bay
    • Pebble Cove
    • Martha Cove
      • Marina Cove
  • Capel Sound
  • Collins Bay
  • Weeroona Bay
  • Ticonderoga Bay
  • Nepean Bay
    • The Bend

Confluents

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Other features

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Marine Parks

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References

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  1. 1 2 "The Sisters". themorningtonpeninsula.com. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
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