WAITEMATA HARBOUR

'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]

Contents

Overview

Geology

Panoramas

References

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