The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a region of water between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

. It extends between the estuaries of the Derwent

Derwent River (Tasmania)

The Derwent is a river in Tasmania, Australia. It was named after the River Derwent, Cumbria by British Commodore John Hayes who explored it in 1793. The name is Brythonic Celtic for "valley thick with oaks"....

, and the Huon River

Huon River

The Huon River is the fourth largest river in Tasmania, Australia. It is 170 km in length, and runs through the fertile Huon Valley. From Scotts Peak Dam at Lake Pedder where it begins, it flows south-east to the Tahune Airwalk, where the Picton River joins, before heading through the rural...

s. It was sighted by Abel Tasman

Abel Tasman

Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC . His was the first known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands...

 in 1642, and surveyed in 1792 by Bruni d'Entrecasteaux

Bruni d'Entrecasteaux

Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was a French navigator who explored the Australian coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse....

.

Towns on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel include Snug

Snug, Tasmania

Snug is a small coastal town located on the Channel Highway south of Hobart in Tasmania. At the 2006 census, Snug had a population of 881. Snug is a part of the Municipality of Kingborough.-History:...

, Margate

Margate, Tasmania

Margate is a small seaside town located on the Channel Highway between North-West Bay and the Snug Tiers, south of Kingston in Tasmania, Australia. At the 2006 census, Margate had a population of 1,368. Although more people live in the immediate region around the town...

, Kettering

Kettering, Tasmania

Kettering is a coastal town on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Kettering and Woodbridge nestle into the coast on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel opposite Bruny Island - two tiny settlements gazing across the narrow channel at the island's low lying hills...

, Woodbridge

Woodbridge, Tasmania

Woodbridge is a town in southern Tasmania, Australia. The town is located south of the state capital, Hobart. At the 2006 census, Woodbridge had a population of 271.-External links:*...

, Flowerpot, Middleton and Gordon.

Geography and Environment

The D'Entrecastaux Channel region, sheltered by Bruny Island is increasingly affected by foreshore erosion, in some areas sandbagging aims to reduce the effects.