Fawley oil refinery from Netley Hospital.

Calshot Castle protects the mouth of Southampton Water.

Southampton Water is a stretch of the sea north of the Isle of Wight and the Solent, in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 490 KB)View west from Netley Hospital chapel tower, Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley, Hampshire, UK. View is across Southampton Water towards Hythe. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 490 KB)View west from Netley Hospital chapel tower, Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley, Hampshire, UK. View is across Southampton Water towards Hythe. ... Image File history File linksMetadata 050103_2353_calshot. ... Image File history File linksMetadata 050103_2353_calshot. ... Calshot Castle is one of Henry VIIIs device forts, built near Fawley to guard the entrance to Southampton Water. ... The Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England, opposite Southampton. ... Satellite image showing the Solent, separating the Isle of Wight from mainland Britain The Solent is a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of Great Britain. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Inter. ... Civic Centre, Southampton Southampton is a city and major port situated on the south coast of England. ... Bucklers Hard on the Beaulieu River The New Forest is an area of Hampshire in England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and old-growth forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. ... The pier at Hythe, Southampton Hythe is a village near Southampton, Hampshire, England. ... An Esso Station in Toronto Esso in Higashi-Osaka Esso is an international trade name used by ExxonMobil and its related companies. ... Fawley is a village and parish in Hampshire, England. ...

Together with the Solent, Southampton Water is world-renowned for yachting. Satellite image showing the Solent, separating the Isle of Wight from mainland Britain The Solent is a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of Great Britain. ... Yachting is a noncommercial boating activity. ...

The rivers Test, Itchen and Hamble flow into Southampton Water. Categories: UK geography stubs | Rivers in Hampshire | Southampton ... The Itchen near Ovington. ... See also Rivers of the United Kingdom Categories: UK geography stubs | Rivers in Hampshire ...

Southampton's emergence as a major port, and particularly as a port handling very large vessels, depended partly on certain geographical features of Southampton Water. Its depth, even in its undeveloped state, was generous; this depth of water has been been increased over the years with comparative ease since the soft silt of the river-bed allows for easy dredging. An additional factor is the phenomenon of the "double tide", which is caused by the slowing effect of the Isle of Wight on tides entering Southampton Water. This results in unusually prolonged periods of high water which greatly facilitates the movements of very large ships. Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ... Dredging is the process by which either new waterways are created or existing waterways are deepened. ... The Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England, opposite Southampton. ... Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, sometimes with multiple decks. ...

Southampton Water is an estuary with major potential for land use conflicts. An area of urban development (the Waterside) runs in the narrow band of land between Southampton Water and the New Forest National Park. Villages such as Marchwood, Hythe, Dibden Purlieu, Holbury and Fawley have all experienced significant growth. Between Hythe and Marchwood, an area of undeveloped land - Dibden Bay - was the site of a proposed port expansion by Associated British ports. This was argued to be essential for the continued economic development of the Port of Southampton but the development was vigorously opposed by conservation groups. The intertidal marshlands of Dibden Bay have international significance (Ramsar status).

The planning enquiry eventually rejected the application from Associated British Ports recommending that the environmental value of the site could not be over-ruled when there were alternative sites for port expansion in southern England which had not yet been fully explored. The government accepted the recommendations of the planning inspector in April 2005. Associated British Ports Holdings plc is a holding company that owns and operates 21 ports throughout the United Kingdom. ...