The Harbour is actually a drowned river estuary carved out of the sandstone about 29 million years ago. The sea level rose about 17,000 years ago flooding the river and creating the harbour.
In reviewing some pertinent facts about the Sydney Harbour, I discovered that there are over 586 species of fish in Sydney Harbour! That's more than you would find off the coast of the United Kingdom!! An estimated 74,000 tons of fish were caught by recreational fishers during the 2008 summer period.
Port Jackson, also called Sydney Harbour, inlet of the Pacific, 12 miles (19 km) long with a total area of 21 square miles (55 square km), which is one of the world’s finest natural harbours and the principal port of New South Wales, Australia. It has minimum and maximum depths of 30 feet (9 metres) and 155 feet at low water, and its irregular foreshores extend more than 150 miles, affording extensive docking facilities. Its principal wharves are near Sydney’s business district.
Its entrance (1.5 miles wide) is between North and South Heads, where naval and military stations are located. The Parramatta River, Cockatoo Island (shipyards), and Middle Harbour Creek form the inlet’s western and northern branches.
The picture of these steps is from the front of the Opera House.
These are pictures from the eateries at the Opera House. Beautiful outdoor dining!
The pictures below are all pictures I took while we were on our tour of the Harbour. They really don't need any explanation!
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened on March 19th 1932 after six years of construction. Made of steel the bridge contains 6 million hand driven rivets. The surface area that requires painting is equal to about the surface area of 60 sports fields. The Bridge has huge hinges to absorb the expansion caused by the hot Sydney sun. It is the world's largest (but not the longest as that's the New River Gorge in the USA) steel arch bridge. Its total length including approach spans is 3,770 feet and its arch span is 1,650 feet. The top of the arch is 440 feet above sea level and the clearance for shipping under the deck is a 161 feet. The total steelwork weighs 52,800 tons, including 39,000 tons in the arch. The 161 foot wide deck makes Sydney Harbour Bridge the widest Longspan Bridge in the world!
You can even book a tour to walk the bridge. Not just walking the "bridge", but walking the ARCH of the bridge! More information is here: Walking the Bridge
More to come on our Aussie Adventures in the next day or two!
Love, Peace and Prayers to all,
Julie and Greg
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