The Tuggerah Lakes, a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

system of three interconnected coastal

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

s, are located on the Central Coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia and comprise Lake Munmorah, Budgewoi Lake and

Tuggerah Lake Tuggerah Lake, an intermittently open intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary that is part of the Tuggerah Lakes, is located within the local government area in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The lake is located ...

History

The area around the Tuggerah Lakes was inhabited by the local Aborigines known as the

Darkinjung people The Darkinjung (not to be confused with the Darkinyung people further inland) are the Local Aboriginal Land Council in the Central Coast, New South Wales, area of Australia and a major landowner on the Central Coast, participating in formal jo ...

prior to European

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

in 1796. The lake system was discovered by the first

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

, Colonel David Collins, who had arrived on the First Fleet. They were found during the search for an escaped

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

, Molly Morgan, who was thought to be living with the Aborigines to the north of the Hawkesbury River.

Description

The wetland system consists of three interconnected coastal lagoons: Lake Munmorah, Budgewoi Lake and Tuggerah Lake. The three lakes cover and have a perimeter of . The largest of the lakes is Tuggerah Lake at . All three lakes are shallow, with average depths of less than two metres (6.5 feet). There is only limited movement of water between the lakes and sea through a narrow channel at The Entrance, and hence

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s in the main body of the lakes are negligible. On occasions, this channel has slowly

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

ed up with

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

and the lakes have been completely cut off from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

until a large

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

scours out the channel again. It has been suggested that there was once a second entrance on the Budgewoi Peninsula, and although there is little evidence of this being the case since

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

, occasionally

waves Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band) ...

do wash over the dunes into Budgewoi Lake during

spring tides Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

. The lakes and their surroundings form part of the Central Coast Council (formerly

Wyong Shire Wyong Shire was a local government area located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The incorporation of the Wyong area dates back to 7 March 1906 when the entire area of the Brisbane Water Police District outside of the ...

) local government area and can be crossed by road over three bridges: * The Entrance Bridge passes over The Entrance Channel * Toukley Bridge joins Toukley and Gorokan at the channel between Tuggerah Lake and Budgewoi Lake * Budgewoi Bridge crosses the channel between Budgewoi Lake and Lake Munmorah at Budgewoi

Environment

The lakes are a major resource and provide not only recreational and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

facilities, but also cooling waters for the Munmorah Power Station. It is also the main basin into which all the rivers and streams drain and it receives nutrients,

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

and

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

from the entire area. Sediments and nutrients have been discharging into the lakes system for thousands of years although the process has greatly accelerated with

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

Important Bird Area

The lakes and their immediate surrounds, including the

Munmorah State Conservation Area Munmorah State Conservation Area is located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The area's coastal setting and panoramic views, perched sand dunes, diverse vegetation communities, protected threatened species and migratory bird ...

and most of the

Wyrrabalong National Park The Wyrrabalong National Park is a coastal national park that is located on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park consists of two sections; the northern section consists ...

, have been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because the shallow waters have extensive

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 or ...

beds attracting large numbers of waterbirds, including 1% of the world populations of

sharp-tailed sandpiper The sharp-tailed sandpiper (''Calidris acuminata'') (but see below) is a small wader. Taxonomy A review of data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus ''Philomachus'' – as ''P. acuminatus'' – which now ...

s and chestnut teals. The adjacent forests and woodlands provide habitat for

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

swift parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor'') is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south eastern mainland Australia from Griffith- Warialda ...

s and

regent honeyeater The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive eff ...

s in the non-breeding season. Australasian and

black bittern The black bittern (''Ixobrychus flavicollis'') is a bittern of Old World origin, breeding in tropical Asia from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia, and Australia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds mi ...

s are sometimes recorded in the IBA. little egrets nest on Curly Island. Other birds using the site in relatively large numbers include black swans,

curlew sandpiper The curlew sandpiper (''Calidris ferruginea'') is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australia and New Zealand. It is a v ...

s and

red-necked stint The red-necked stint (''Calidris ruficollis'') is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ruficollis'' is from ...

References

{{Reflist Lakes of New South Wales Central Coast (New South Wales) Important Bird Areas of New South Wales

History

Description

Environment

Important Bird Area

See also

References