The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a youthful tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The picturesque river is a tributary of the Parramatta River, winding through a peaceful bushland valley. It joins Parramatta River at Greenwich and Woolwich, where together they form an arm of Sydney Harbour.
The Lane Cove River rises near Thornleigh and flows generally south for about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi). Its catchment area is approximately 95.4 square kilometres (36.8 sq mi).
The upper reaches are in a narrow, forested valley eroded into the North Shore Plateau. The middle reaches are impounded by a weir just upstream of Fullers Bridge. Sections of the valley are richly forested and are protected within the Lane Cove National Park, an area of 598 hectares (1,480 acres), formerly a State Recreation Area. The lower reaches of the Lane Cove River, downstream from the weir near Fullers Bridge, are tidal and merge into Sydney Harbour at Greenwich and Woolwich. There are significant areas of mangrove communities along the shores.
Lane Cove is an affluent middle-class suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Lane Cove. It is a highly desirable, family-oriented suburb well serviced by schools, shops, cafes, restaurants, medical and dental services, recreational facilities and public transport. Lane Cove West and Lane Cove North are separate suburbs.
Lane Cove occupies a peninsula on the northern side of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), at the opening of the Lane Cove River. It is adjacent to the Lower North Shore suburbs of Riverview, Longueville, Willoughby and Artarmon. The regional administrative and shopping hub of Chatswood is located 2.5 kilometres away.
There are a number of possibilities of the origin of the name 'Lane Cove'. The first written use of the name was by Lieutenant William Bradley after he had just sailed along the river in 1788. Some have argued that the it was named after Lieutenant Michael Lane, a respected cartographer, who had once worked with Captain Cook. Others say that it was in honour of John Lane, who was the son of the London Lord Mayor at the time as well as a good friend of the first Governor, Arthur Phillip. In any case, the name stuck, and by the 1800s was being used to refer to all the land north of the river.