Lake Macquarie (New South Wales)
| Lake Macquarie | |
|---|---|
| Newcastle, Central Coast, New South Wales | |
| Awaba (Awabakal) | |
View from Swansea showing Lake Macquarie | |
Lake Macquarie | |
| Location | Hunter, Central Coast () |
| Coordinates | 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, Central Coast Council |
| Website | Lake Macquarie at the Office of Environment & Heritage |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
| Pulbah Island Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
Photo showing the northern side of Pulbah Island | |
Pulbah Island Nature Reserve | |
| Location | New South Wales |
| Nearest city | Lake Macquarie |
| Coordinates | 33°05′34″S 151°35′24″E / 33.09278°S 151.59000°E |
| Area | 68 ha (170 acres) |
| Established | July 1970 |
| Visitors | Restricted |
| Website | Official website |
Lake Macquarie (Awabakal: Awaba) is Australia's largest coastal lake. Located in the City of Lake Macquarie and Central Coast Council local government areas in the Hunter and Central Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, 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 the largest coastal salt water lake in the Southern Hemisphere. It is slightly smaller than Port Stephens, which is about 43 kilometres (27 mi) to the northeast of the lagoon.