Liverpool Bay is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

of the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

between northeast

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

and

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence. Liverpool Bay has historically suffered from reduced oxygen content from prior massive discharges of sewage sludge, according to C. Michael Hogan. The rivers

Alt Alt or ALT may refer to: Abbreviations for words * Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account * Alternate character, in online gaming * Alternate route, type of highway designation * Alternating group, mathema ...

Clwyd Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...

, Dee, Ribble and

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

drain into the bay. The bay is littered with wrecks and has many dive sites. The bay also contains several oil and gas fields including the Douglas Complex, with a combined daily capacity (January 2008) of 60,000

barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

. The UK's first major offshore wind farm,

North Hoyle North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm is Wales' first offshore wind farm, and the UK's first major offshore renewable power project. Situated in Liverpool Bay, it commenced operation in 2003. The first of the UK's Round 1 offshore wind farms, North Ho ...

, is located in the south of the bay, which is a busy shipping route to the Mersey Docks. The land area around the bay is occasionally referred to as the "Liverpool Bay Area". Though the term is seen by some as a possible official alternative to Merseyside, it is more often used to describe a much wider area which may include the

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,68 ...

towns of

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administ ...

and

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...

to the north, St Helens and

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

to the east and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

plus

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...

to the south. In this sense, it is often promoted by local thinkers and urbanists to encourage regional co-operation in both economic and cultural terms. It is not recognised by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

as a strategic economic sub-region, however. Despite having its advocates, the term is still not particularly common in the area. The English portion of Liverpool Bay is one of the 120 natural areas into which England is divided by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

for

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

purposes.

Wind power

Wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s which are the biggest in the world as of 2017 have been installed in Liverpool Bay.Mersey feat: world's biggest wind turbines go online near Liverpool
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

Notable ships lost in Liverpool Bay

* SS ''City of Brussels'' * * PS ''Lelia'' *''

Ocean Monarch ''Ocean Monarch'' is the name of a number of ships. * , a barque that caught fire in 1848 with the loss of nearly 180 lives * , Russell and Co., Port Glasgow. * , a Furness, Withy ship * , a Shaw, Savill & Albion ship * ''Ocean Monarch'' (1955), t ...

'' *'' Resurgam'' * HMS ''Thetis''

References

External links

School of Ocean Sciences BangorReal-time map of shipping in the bay
{{Coord, 53, 32, N, 3, 12, W, region:GB_type:waterbody_scale:1000000, display=title Liverpool Landforms of Merseyside Bays of the Irish Sea Bays of Wales Landforms of Cheshire Landforms of Lancashire Bays of England Natural regions of England Bodies of water of Denbighshire Bays of Conwy County Borough Bodies of water of Flintshire

Wind power

Notable ships lost in Liverpool Bay

See also

References

Further reading

External links