Sydney

:For other meanings, see Sydney (disambiguation), or Sidney.

Geography

Sydney is located in a coastal basin between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Blue Mountains to the west. The city features the largest natural harbour in the world, Port Jackson, and more than 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach. Sydney's urban area of 1,687 km² is similar to that of Greater London, although it has less than half of that city's population. The metropolitan area (Sydney Statistical Division) is 12,145 km², but much of this is national park and other unsettled land. The geographical coordinates of Sydney are 34 degrees south and 151 degrees east.

Related Topics:
Pacific Ocean - Blue Mountains - Port Jackson - Bondi Beach - Km² - Greater London

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Sydney occupies two geographical regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat or rolling region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a plateau north of the harbour, up to 200 m in elevation, dissected by forested valleys. The oldest parts of the city are located in the flat areas; the Hornsby Plateau, known as the North Shore, was slower to develop because of its hilly topography, and was mostly a quiet backwater until the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932, linking it to the rest of the city. Much of the North Shore is upper-middle class suburban in character, with high-rise business districts at Chatswood and North Sydney.

Related Topics:
Cumberland Plain - Hornsby Plateau - North Shore - Sydney Harbour Bridge - Chatswood - North Sydney

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Sydney's central business district (CBD) extends southwards for about 2 km from Sydney Cove, the point of the first European settlement. Densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings are interspersed by several parks such as Wynyard and Hyde Parks. The CBD is bounded on the east side by a chain of parkland that extends from Hyde Park through the Domain and Royal Botanic Gardens to Farm Cove on the harbour. The west side is bounded by Darling Harbour, a popular tourist precinct. Central Station marks the southern end of the CBD. George St is the Sydney CBD's main north-south thoroughfare. In the southern CBD, the streets run on a slightly angled grid pattern; in the older northern CBD, the routes are less logical, reflecting the ad-hoc development of bullock tracks in the early days of the city. (See the Sydney central business district article for more detail.) Sydney's streets tend to be narrower than those of other major Australian cities, reflecting this ad hoc development.

Related Topics:
Central business district - Sydney Cove - Skyscrapers - Wynyard - Hyde Parks - The Domain - Royal Botanic Gardens - Farm Cove - Darling Harbour - Central Station

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Although the CBD dominated the city's business and cultural life in the early days, other business/cultural districts have developed in a radial pattern since World War II. As a result, the proportion of white-collar jobs located in the CBD declined from more than 60% at the end of World War II to less than 30% in 2004. The five most significant outer business districts are Parramatta in the central-west, Blacktown in the west, Liverpool in the southwest, Chatswood to the north, and Hurstville in the south.

Related Topics:
World War II - 2004 - Parramatta - Blacktown - Liverpool - Chatswood - Hurstville

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Although the city does not suffer from cyclones or significant earthquakes, the El Niño Southern Oscillation plays an important role in determining Sydney's weather patterns: drought and bushfire on the one hand, and storms and flooding on the other, associated with the opposite phases of the oscillation. Many areas of the city bordering bushland have experienced bushfires, notably in 1994 and 2002. The city is subject to infrequent severe hail storms and wind storms. In recent years, the city has faced water shortages. The levels of the main catchment area, Warragamba Dam, have fallen to such an extent that the state government has imposed a range of restrictions intended to reduce water consumption.

Related Topics:
Cyclone - Earthquake - El Niño Southern Oscillation - Bushfires - 1994 - 2002 - Warragamba Dam

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