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Mumbai Harbour(Marathi:मुंबई बंदर), or Front Bay is the southern portion of the Ulhas River estuary, the northern (and narrower) part of which is called Thane Creek. The historical island of Elephanta is one of the six islands that lie in the harbour. It is home to the Mumbai Port Trust, which lies in the south section of the western edge of the harbor.
Front Bay is the official name of the harbour, so named because Bombay started as a tiny settlement facing the harbour. The waterbody behind the original settlement, forming an arc between the [former] islands of Colaba and Bombay island, up to the Malabar Hill promontory or peninsula, was similarly called Back Bay.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Navi Mumbai (New Bombay) lie to the east on the mainland, and the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) lies to the west on Salsette Island. The harbour opens to the Arabian Sea to the south. The Gateway of India with its jetty for Elephanta is the most important tourist destination, followed by the INS Vikrant maritime Museum.
The Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway system runs along the western edge of the harbour.
Ecology
Mangrove swamps line much of the northwestern and eastern shores of the harbour, and provide a rich habitat for wildlife, including thousands of migrating birds such as flamingoes.
Pollution
Due to immense population pressures from the Mumbai metropolitan region and the extremely busy maritime trade, the Mumbai Harbour is considered to be heavily polluted.
This includes reports of heavy metals flux found in the creeks adjacent to the harbour with the harbour acting as a sink for most of the pollutants.[1]
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