Sydney Harbour, in New South Wales, Australia, is one of the finest natural harbors in the world. It lies on the east coast of New South Wales in southeastern Australia and opens onto the Pacific Ocean. The city of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, was built along its shore. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, one of the longest single-span bridges in the world, links the northern and southern shores of Sydney Harbour.
The name Sydney Harbour is the name of the main arm of the large inlet known as Port Jackson. That main arm extends from the harbor mouth west to the mouths of the Lane Cove and Parramatta rivers. However, Sydney Harbour is also used as another name for all of Port Jackson. This larger area also includes North Harbour, Middle Harbour, and the two rivers. At the main opening to the sea, North Harbour is on the north shore, the entrance to the main arm of Sydney Harbour lies opposite it to the south, and the mouth of Middle Harbour lies between the two.
Port Jackson covers a total of about 21 square miles (54 square kilometers) and has a shoreline 150 miles (240 kilometers) long. The deepest point is about 153 feet (47 meters), off Blues Point.
The British navigator Captain James Cook sailed into the inlet in 1770, as he was exploring the east coast of Australia. He named it Port Jackson for a British naval administrator, Sir George Jackson. Today, Sydney Harbour is the site of many types of recreational events. The Sydney Opera House, a World Heritage site, stands on Bennelong Point, a peninsula jutting into Sydney Harbour.
