The suburb consists of two distinct areas: the north-western part which is the mainland (adjacent with suburbs
Woree,
Bungalow,
Parramatta Park and
Cairns City) and the south-eastern part which is a pair of islands (Admiralty Island and a smaller unnamed island) bounded to the west by Smiths Creek and to the east by
Trinity Inlet. The mainland part is developed land while the islands are undeveloped. The entire suburb is flat low-lying land, less than 10 metres above sea level.The mainland part is principally used for industrial purposes with those nearest Smiths Creek being used for maritime purposes such as boat building, shipping services, trawlers and fish markets. Ray Jones Drive/Bruce Highway is an arterial road that runs from the south-west to the north-east through the mainland area (being known at the north-east end as Comport Street). The
North Coast railway line runs south and roughly parallel with the arterial road with the
Portsmith railway station () and
Portsmith railway yards serving the suburb. == History ==