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Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) And Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site
The Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site is one of the Australian sites listed under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. It was designated on 15 December 1982, and is listed as Ramsar Site No.266. Much of the site is also part of either the Swan Bay and Port Phillip Bay Islands Important Bird Area or the Werribee and Avalon Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of their importance for wetland and waterbirds as well as for orange-bellied parrots.BirdLife International (2011). It comprises some six disjunct, largely coastal, areas of land, totalling 229 km2, along the western shore of Port Phillip and on the Bellarine Peninsula, in the state of Victoria. Wetland types protected include shallow marine waters, estuaries, freshwater lakes, seasonal swamps, intertidal mudflats and seagrass beds. The subsites include: * Part of Point Cook, including the coastline from Skeleto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971. Every three years, representatives of the contracting parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the convention which adopts decisions (resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives. COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 2015. COP13 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in October 2018. List of wetlands of international importance The list of wetlands of international importance included 2,331 Ramsar sites in May 2018 covering over . The countries with most sites are the United Kingdo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seagrass
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the order Alismatales (in the clade of monocotyledons). Seagrasses evolved from terrestrial plants which recolonised the ocean 70 to 100 million years ago. The name ''seagrass'' stems from the many species with long and narrow leaves, which grow by rhizome extension and often spread across large "meadows" resembling grassland; many species superficially resemble terrestrial grasses of the family Poaceae. Like all autotrophic plants, seagrasses photosynthesize, in the submerged photic zone, and most occur in shallow and sheltered coastal waters anchored in sand or mud bottoms. Most species undergo submarine pollination and complete their life cycle underwater. While it was previously believed this pollination was carried out without pollinators ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reedy Lake
Reedy Lake, historically also known as Lake Reedy, is a shallow intermittent freshwater lake or swamp on the lower reaches of the Barwon River, on the Bellarine Peninsula southeast of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The lake is included in the Lake Connewarre State Game Reserve, managed by Parks Victoria and is the largest freshwater swamp in central Victoria, and is part of a wetland complex which includes Hospital Swamp, Lake Connewarre, Salt Swamp and the Barwon estuary. The lake's outlet to the tidal lower Barwon River is controlled by a weir. The lake is listed under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international significance, as part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site. History Six thousand years ago Reedy Lake was part of a large marine bay. With a subsequent change in relative sea level it was cut off from the sea by a barrier of sand dunes, and its bed covered by a layer of alluvial c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Connewarre
Lake Connewarre ( Aboriginal Wathawurrung language: ''Kunawarr keelingk'' literally meaning ''black swan lake''), a shallow estuarine lake on the Barwon River, is located on the Bellarine Peninsula southeast of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features It is adjacent to, and downstream from, the freshwater Reedy Lake. Lake Connewarre is linked to the sea by the mangrove-fringed channel of the lower Barwon River estuary, resulting in the lake being subject to tidal flows, with a weir at the inflow to the lake preventing saline water progressing upstream. Lake Connewarre forms part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site as a wetland of international importance, with much of the wetland area also part of the Lake Connewarre State Game Reserve. However, most of the land surrounding Lake Connewarre has been cleared for agricultural purposes resulting in environmental degradation. Water pollution from upriver has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mud Islands
The Mud Islands reserve is located within Port Phillip, about south-west of Melbourne, Australia, lying inside Port Phillip Heads, north of Portsea and east of Queenscliff. The land area of about is made up of three low-lying islands surrounding a shallow tidal lagoon connected to the sea by three narrow channels. The shapes and configuration of the islands change over the years due to movement of sand by tidal currents. History First sighted by Europeans in 1802, the islands were originally named ''Swan Isles'' because of the large number of swans on the surrounding waters. It was not until 1836 that Lieutenants T M Symonds and H R Henry of surveyed the islands and renamed them ''Mud Islands''. Protection In 1961, the Victorian Fisheries and Wildlife Department declared the islands a sanctuary for the White-Faced Storm Petrel. In 1979, the area of the islands above high water was proclaimed a permanent reserve for the management of wildlife. It forms part of the P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swan Bay
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six living and many extinct species of swan; in addition, there is a species known as the coscoroba swan which is no longer considered one of the true swans. Swans usually mate for life, although "divorce" sometimes occurs, particularly following nesting failure, and if a mate dies, the remaining swan will take up with another. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight. Etymology and terminology The English word ''swan'', akin to the German , Dutch and Swedish , is derived from Indo-European root ' ('to sound, to sing'). Young swans are known as '' cygnets'' or as '' swanlings''; the former derives via Old French or (diminutive suffix et 'little') fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limeburners Bay
Limeburners Bay, one of numerous bays in Port Phillip, lies in the southwest and adjoins Corio Bay, which abuts Geelong, the second largest city in Victoria, Australia. The bay was named after lime kilns, located on the east side of Corio Bay, used to burn limestone for making cement. In the 1820s, explorers Hume and Hovell ended their journey in the area of Limeburners Bay before returning to Sydney. It is a tide-dominated estuary that runs off Hovells Creek. The area is popular for recreational fishing and hiking and birdwatching. Geelong Grammar School overlooks the bay. Limeburners Bay is home to many endangered species. It forms part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site as a wetland of international importance. The site is part of the Werribee and Avalon Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for wetland and waterbirds as well as for orange-bellied parrots.BirdLife Internationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point Lillias
Point Lillias is a narrow peninsula jutting southwards from the northern coast of Corio Bay, north of the city of Geelong, in Victoria, Australia. It was formed by a southward-trending tongue of lava from the volcanic flows of the Werribee Plains. The seaward end of the peninsula forms a low cliff fringed by shelly beach ridges. Forming the end of the same lava tongue, 500 metres to the south, is a small basalt island known as Bird Rock, connected by a submerged shoal to the peninsula. Point Lillias adjoins the evaporation ponds of the Cheetham saltworks at Avalon. It is listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention as part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site. Geological significance Point Lillias illustrates the development of coastal features on a lava surface. Although the adjacent coastline has developed through the submergence of the edge of the Werribee lava plain, Bird Rock is the only emergent, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point Wilson, Victoria
Point Wilson is a locality located on the northern shores of Corio Bay, Victoria. it is approximately 60 kilometres by road from Melbourne, and 25 kilometres by road from Geelong. The locality is bounded by Pousties Road to the west, the Princes Freeway to the north west, Little River to the north east, and Corio Bay to the south. Point Wilson is sparsely populated, and public access to the area is restricted due to the explosives facility located in the area. Other nearby land uses include the Murtcaim Wildlife Area and Melbourne Water's Western Treatment Plant. Environment The Point Wilson area is environmentally sensitive. It forms part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site as a wetland of international importance. It contains important habitat for the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot that uses the coastal salt marsh as a wintering site. The site is part of the Werribee and Avalon Important Bird Area, identified as such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corio Bay
Corio Bay is one of numerous internal bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay. Etymology When Hamilton Hume and William Hovell arrived at the bay in 1824 they met with the local Wautharong people who referred to the bay as "Jillong" and the surround land "Corayo", but by the time the area was surveyed in the late 1830s the Aboriginal names had been swapped. The names "Corayo" and "Jillong" had since been Anglicised to "Corio" and "Geelong". Shipping The Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay, and is the sixth largest port in Australia by tonnage. Before the initial settlement of Geelong, a sandbar across the bay from Point Lillias to Point Henry prevented ships from entering the inner harbour. Ships were required to drop anchor in the bay, and cargo was brought into Geelong on small barges. At times it was possible to walk across the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avalon Airport
Avalon Airport is an international airport located in Avalon in the City of Greater Geelong in Victoria, Australia. While located outside the Melbourne metropolitan area, it is the second busiest of the four airports serving the state capital in passenger traffic. It is located north-east of the Geelong CBD and south-west of the Melbourne CBD. The airport is operated by Avalon Airport Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Linfox. Avalon is currently served by passenger airline Jetstar, which began domestic flights in 2004. The airport is also the site of the biennial Australian International Airshow. Unlike Melbourne Airport, Avalon Airport is not governed by the Commonwealth's ''Airports Act 1996''. The airport has a single runway in addition to a helipad. History The airport is located on land of the original indigenous owners, the Wathaurong people, and a scatter stone area is preserved on the Avalon Airport site, out of respect for the original owners. The land has unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spit Nature Conservation Reserve
The Spit Nature Conservation Reserve is a 300 ha nature reserve on the north-western shore of Port Phillip, a large bay in Victoria, Australia. It consists of public land set aside to conserve and protect species, communities, and habitats of indigenous plants and animals. It is adjacent to the Werribee Sewage Farm and is managed by Parks Victoria.Anon (2000). Description The reserve contains sand spits, a lagoon, and an area of saltmarsh. Together the north and south spits are approximately four kilometres long and vary in shape and size depending on the tide and, over longer periods of time, the onshore currents. At high tide, the depth of the lagoon reaches about one metre, while at low tide a mudflat is exposed. This environment provides an area which is an extremely important feeding ground for a variety of birds, especially waders and waterbirds. The saltmarsh is important as one of the main wintering sites for the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot. Values The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
