Location of Waitemata Harbour.
One of the wooded beach reserves typical of the harbour, eastern edge of
Herne Bay, south harbour edge.
'Waitemata Harbour', a 70 square miles harbour,
[1] is the main access by sea to
Auckland,
New Zealand. It connects the city and port to the
Hauraki Gulf, and thus to the
Pacific Ocean, and is sheltered from Pacific storms by the bulks of
Rangitoto Island and
Waiheke Island.
For this reason it is often referred to as ''Auckland Harbour'', despite the fact that it is only one of two harbours surrounding the city. The Waitemata forms the north and east coasts of Auckland isthmus. It is matched on the south and west by the shallower waters of
Manukau Harbour.
The name is from the
Māori language, with 'Wai te Mataa' referring to
obsidian glass. The 'sparkling waters' (a later translation of the meaning)
of the harbour were said to glint like the volcanic glass prized by these early arrivals to the harbour.
[2]
Overview
The harbour is an arm of the Hauraki Gulf, extending west for eighteen kilometres from the end of the
Rangitoto Channel. Its entrance is between
North Head and
Bastion Point in the south. The westernmost ends of the harbour extend past
Whenuapai in the northwest, and to
Te Atatu in the west, as well as forming the estuarial arm known as the
Whau River in the southwest.
The north shore of the harbour is formed by
North Shore City, one of several separate cities within
Greater Auckland. Suburbs located close to the shore here include
Birkenhead,
Northcote and
Devonport (west to east).
To the south is the heart of
Auckland City, with the
Auckland waterfront, as well as coastal suburbs such as
Mission Bay,
Parnell,
Herne Bay and
Point Chevalier (east to west), the latter of which lies on a short triangular peninsula jutting into the harbour.
The harbour is crossed at its narrowest point by the
Auckland Harbour Bridge. To the east of its southern end lie the marinas of Westhaven, as well as the suburbs of
Freemans Bay and the
Viaduct Basin. Further east from these, and close to the harbour's entrance, lies the
Port of Auckland.
Geology
The harbour is in fact a
drowned valley system in
marine sediments deposited during the
Miocene. The shore was strongly influenced by tidal rivers, particularly in the west and north of the harbour.
Mudflats covered by
mangroves flourished in these conditions, and
salt marshes are also typical.
Panoramas
References
1. Waitemata Harbour (from Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand)
2. Information plaque at the end of Princes Wharf, as of 2007
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