Lake Macquarie

Lake Macquarie or Awaba is Australia's largest coastal salt water lagoon. Located in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, it covers an area of 110km2 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 one of the largest salt water lagoons in the Southern Hemisphere. It is slightly smaller than Port Stephens, which is about 43km to the northeast of the lake.HistoryAboriginal people of the Awabakal nation lived in the area surrounding what is now known as Lake Macquarie for thousands of years. The name Awaba, which means "a plain surface" was used to describe the lake.Lake Macquarie was first encountered by Europeans in 1800, when Captain William Reid, who had been sent from Sydney to retrieve a load of coal from Newcastle Harbour. Reid took a wrong turn and found himself in a lake rather than a river, with no coal to be seen anywhere. The name "Reid's Mistake" was retained until 1826, when it was renamed in honour of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.Geography and environmentThe lake is of irregular shape and the land separating it from the ocean is only a few kilometres wide along most of its length. While there are a several small, sandy, low-level islets in the lake, some of which are grouped near the mouth, Pulbah Island, located south of Swansea is a large island offering views from rocky cliffs.