Port Phillip - Geography

Geography

Port Phillip lies in southern Victoria, separated from Bass Strait by the Bellarine Peninsula to the southwest and Mornington Peninsula to the southeast. It is the largest bay in Victoria and one of the largest inland bays in Australia. The narrow entrance to the bay, called the Rip, between Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean, features strong tidal streams made turbulent by the uneven contours of the seabed. The best time for small craft to enter the Rip is at slack water. Large ships require expert local guidance to enter and exit, provided by the Port Phillip Sea Pilots. Work has commenced to deepen the channel entrance, to allow newer, larger container ships to access Melbourne's docks.

The eastern side of the bay is characterised by sandy beaches extending from St Kilda, Sandringham, Beaumaris, Carrum, and down the Mornington Peninsula to Frankston, Safety Beach/Dromana and Rye to Portsea. Longshore drift carries sand from south to north during winter and from north to south during summer. Cliff erosion control has often resulted in sand starvation, necessitating offshore dredging to replenish the beach. On the western side of the bay there is a greater variety of beach types, seen at Queenscliff, St Leonards, Indented Head, Portarlington, and Eastern Beach. Numerous sandbanks and shoals occur in the southern section of the bay, and parts of the South Channel require occasional maintenance dredging.