The Limeburners Bay, one of numerous bays in Port Phillip lies in the southwest and adjoins Corio Bay, which abuts Geelong, the second largest city in Victoria, Australia. The bay was named after lime kilns, located on the east side of Corio Bay, used to burn limestone for making cement.
In the 1820s, explorers Hume and Hovell ended their journey in the area of Limeburners Bay before returning to Sydney. It is a tide-dominated estuary that runs off Hovells Creek. The area is popular for recreational fishing and hiking and birdwatching.
Hamilton Hume & William Hovell
Limeburners Bay is a funnel-shaped estuary at the mouth of Hovells Creek. The entrance, at Point Abeona, is partly enclosed by a narrow, recurving shelly spit, the form and position of the distal end of this spit changing frequently in response to variable wave regimes and sand movement from the east. A broader and shorter spit also projects into the inlet from near the boat launching area but this is more stable being subject to a less variable wave regime. This spit, and the shoal that extends from it, divide the estuary into two basins. The lower basin includes the deepest point in Limeburners Bay (over 6 m in the throat of the flood tide channel opposite Point Abeona), but the basin shallows rapidly to be 2 to 3 m deep opposite the boat launching area. The upper basin averages 1 m in depth, and at low tide a broad area of sand and mud is exposed around the margins.
Many features typical of larger estuarine systems are found in close proximity, such as active cliffs, marginal bluffs, active and relict spits, mangrove and salt marsh zones, and terraces and other deposits suggestive of higher sea levels. The site is an outstanding one to demonstrate many physiographic, hydrological and ecological features of estuaries and coastal lagoons and provides the opportunity for studies in tidal circulation, salinity variation and the dynamics of spit growth. The site is easily accessible from the western side of Melbourne and provides the best example of a compound estuary system close to the Melbourne area. It is a research and educational resource of considerable value.
Spit (Landform)
Spits occur when longshore drift reaches a section of headland where the turn is greater than 30 degrees. They will continue out into the sea until water pressure (such as from a river) becomes too much to allow the sand to deposit. The spit may then be grown upon and become stable and often fertile. A spit may be considered a specialized form of a shoal. As spits grow, the water behind them is sheltered from wind and waves, and a salt marsh is likely to develop.
Q1 Describe the colours and the texture of the lagoon here. Can you see any basalt at this location?
Q2 Limeburners Bay is what shaped at the mouth of Hovells Creek? (read notes)
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