Topic summary

Pittwater

Pittwater

Pittwater is a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valleyestuary, located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separates Greater Metropolitan Sydney from the Central Coast.

Pittwater has its origin from the confluence of McCarrs Creek, to the west of Church Point and a number of smaller estuaries, the largest of which is , that joins the Pittwater north of Mona Vale. The Pittwater is an open body of water, often considered a bay or harbour, that flows north towards its mouth into Broken Bay, between West Head and Barrenjoey Head, less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the Tasman Sea.

The total area of the Pittwater is 18.4 square kilometres (7.1 sq mi) and around ninety percent of the area is generally administered by the Hawkesbury–Nepean Catchment Management Authority, in conjunction with Northern Beaches Council.

The land adjacent to the Pittwater was occupied for many thousands of years by the Kuringgai peoples, an Aboriginal Australian grouping of uncertain origin. They used the river as an important source of food and a place for trade.

Pittwater was named Pitt Water in 1788 in honour of William Pitt the Younger, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain.