The city of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, is home to some of the finest and most famous beaches in the world. There are well over 100 beaches in the city, stretching from Palm Beach in the north to Garie Beach in the south, ranging in size from a few metres to several kilometres, located along the city's

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

coastline and its

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

s and

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s. With around 70 surf beaches and dozens of harbour coves, Sydney is almost unrivalled in the world for the number and quality of beaches available. The water and sand among the city beaches, despite their popularity, are remarkably clean. The beach watch program was established in 1989 in response to community concern about the impact of sewage pollution on human health and the environment at Sydney's ocean beaches.

Ocean beaches

Sydney's ocean beaches include the internationally renowned Bondi, Coogee, Cronulla and Manly. The ocean beaches are usually divided into the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the ...

, located north of the entrance to

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

and the southern beaches which are in the Eastern Suburbs and

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

area. Most beach suburbs have one beach but some have more. Manly has eight beaches that range from the large 1.6 km Ocean Beach to the tiny Fairy Bower Beach. From north to south, Sydney's ocean beaches are: ;Northern *

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

* Bilgola *Bungan * Collaroy * Curl Curl *

Dee Why Dee Why is a coastal suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of Northern Beaches ...

* Fairy Bower *Fishermans *

Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

*Long Reef * Manly * Mona Vale *

Narrabeen Narrabeen is a beachside suburb of northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres northeast of the business district, shared by the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and the Northern Beaches region. The bay wa ...

* Newport * North Curl Curl * North Narrabeen *North Steyne * Palm Beach * Queenscliff * Shelly Beach (Manly) * Turimetta *

Warriewood Warriewood is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Warriewood is located 26 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Warriewood is pa ...

* Whale Beach ;Southern * Bondi * Bronte *

Clovelly Clovelly () is a privately owned harbour village in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England. The settlement and surrounding land belongs to John Rous, who inherited it from his mother in 1983. He belongs to the Hamlyn family ...

* Coogee * Cronulla * Elouera * Gordons Bay * Little Bay * Malabar * Maroubra * North Cronulla *

Phillip Bay Phillip Bay is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 13 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Its postcode is 2036. ...

* Shelly Beach (Cronulla) * Tamarama *

Wanda Wanda is a female given name of Poland, Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda" ''Behind the Name.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popu ...

When conditions are suitable, a sandy beach forms, in what is normally a rocky inlet, at Mackenzies Bay.

Sydney Harbour

Beaches in

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

include: * Balmoral Beach * Clontarf * Little Manly Beach *North Head Quarantine Station Beach * Lady Martins Beach *Seven Shillings Beach, Point Piper * Double Bay Beach * Camp Cove * Shark Beach *Milk Beach,

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

* Chowder Bay, Clifton Gardens *Chinamans Beach, The Spit *Washaway Beach * Obelisk Beach *Cobblers Beach *Athol Bay Beach, Clifton Gardens *Edwards Beach *Reef Beach *Castle Rock

Botany Bay

Beaches in

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point a ...

include: * Bumbora Rock at the north end of Yarra Bay * Congwong Beach *

Cooks River The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The course of the urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various developme ...

to the west of the airport * Foreshore Beach * Frenchmans Bay in La Perouse * Elephants Trunk * Lady Robinsons Beach (which includes

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach ...

, Ramsgate beach and Dolls Point Beach, among others), is known to have the most whitest sand in Sydney * Little Congwong Beach * Pelican Point * Penrhyn Beach (possibly now part of the container terminals) * Silver Beach * Towra Beach * Taren Spit Beach * Yarra Bay There are also more beaches along the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

to the north, and

and

Port Hacking Port Hacking Estuary ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: ''Deeban''), an open youthful tide dominated, drowned valley estuary, is located in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia approximately south of Sydney central business district. Po ...

to the south.

References

{{reflist
Guide to Sydney Beaches
*"Sand in our Souls - the Beach in Australian History" Leone Huntsman, MUP, 2001
Beachsafe
Geography of Sydney Beaches of Sydney

Beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

Ocean beaches

Sydney Harbour

Botany Bay

See also

References