Myall Lakes
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The Myall Lakes are a series of salt water lakes on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. The lakes are adjacent to the coast about 250 kilometers north of Sydney.
There are four Myall Lakes, called Myall Lake, Boolambyte Lake, The Broadwater and Smith's Lake. The Lakes are partially interconnected and navigable by small craft. The Myall River flows into the western side of The Broadwater. The Myall River also flows out of The Broadwater and meanders southwest where it empties into Port Stephens between the towns of Tea Gardens and Hawk's Nest.
Most of the Myall Lakes are surrounded by the Myall Lakes National Park. The area between the lakes and the sea is mainly uninhabited coastal woodlands and long isolated beaches although some of it was mined for heavy mineral sands before the 1970s. The village of Bungwahl is located on the northern shore of Myall Lake. There are a number of small islands in the lakes.
The lakes are separated from the ocean by sand bar systems, which in the case of Smith's Lake, is breached regularly every couple of years. This is necessary for the fish to complete their life cycles and replenish the stocks within the lake.