Geography of Port Phillip


Port Phillip, sometimes referred to as Port Phillip Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia, 1,930 km2 in area, with a coastline length of. The bay is extremely shallow for its size, but mostly navigable. The deepest portion is only 24 m, 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.

Beaches

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

In Hobsons Bay there are:

Between Hobsons and Beaumaris Bays

Beaumaris Bay

In Beaumaris Bay there are:

Between Beaumaris and Dromana Bays

Dromana Bay

Capel Sound

Corio Bay

In Corio Bay there are:

Between Corio and Altona Bays

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

Altona Bay

Landforms

Islands and reefs

Points

  • Point Ormond
  • Green Point
  • Picnic Point
  • Red Bluff
  • Quiet Corner
  • Ricketts Point
  • Table Rock Point
  • Olivers Hill
  • Pelican Point
  • Shnapper Point
  • Linley Point
  • Balcombe Point
  • Martha Point
  • Anthonys Nose
  • White Cliffs
  • Eastern Sister
  • Western Sister
  • Policemans Point
  • Point King
  • Point McArthur
  • Point Franklin
  • Police Point
  • Observatory Point
  • Point Nepean
  • The Rip
  • Point Lonsdale
  • Shortlands Bluff
  • The Cut
  • Swan Point
  • Burnt Point
  • Edwards Point
  • The Bluff
  • Indented Head
  • Point George
  • Grassy Point
  • Point Richards
  • Beacon Point
  • Point Henry
  • Limeburners Point
  • Point Lillias
  • Point Wilson
  • Kirk Point
  • Point Cooke
  • Point Gellibrand

Bays

  • Hobsons Bay
  • Elwood Bay
  • Hampton Bay
  • Half Moon Bay
  • Watkins Bay
  • Beaumaris Bay
  • Daveys Bay
  • Canadian Bay
  • Half Moon Bay
  • Mornington Bay
  • Marina Cover
  • Dromana Bay
  • Capel Sound
  • Collins Bay
  • Weeroona Bay
  • Ticonderoga Bay
  • Nepean Bay
  • The Rip
  • Lonsdale Bay
  • Stingaree Bight
  • Swan Bay
  • Salt Lagoon
  • Hood Bight
  • Half Moon Bay
  • Outer Harbour
  • The Spit
  • Campbells Cove
  • Altona Bay

Confluents

Other features

Marine Parks