Sydney (Australia) - geography.

« Sydney (Australia) - geography. IINTRODUCTION Sydney (Australia) , first permanent European settlement in Australia and today the country’s largest metropolitan area, with about 4 million residents.

Sydney is the seat of state government as the capital of New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous and economically important state.

The city is a dynamic cultural center with adiversified economy focused on service industries, tourism, manufacturing, and international commerce.

Its port is one of the leading centers of intercontinental trade in theAsia-Pacific region.

Sydney is located on Australia’s southeastern coast at Port Jackson, a large, sheltered, deep-water inlet of the Tasman Sea (part of the South PacificOcean). Sydney was founded as a British penal colony on January 26, 1788.

The British government sent ships of convicts from overcrowded British jails to Sydney until the mid-1800s.

Today, the stunning natural harbor forms the centerpiece of a modern, cosmopolitan city.

Sydney’s diverse population, a result of immigration from many othercountries, is reflected in the city’s vibrant cultural life.

Sydney is the top Australian destination for tourists from abroad, and tourism is a leading industry in the city.

Sydneyhosted the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, which boosted its image worldwide as the gateway to Australia. Sydney has a temperate humid climate with four distinct seasons.

Because Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, its seasons are the opposite of those in the NorthernHemisphere.

During the peak of summer in January, the city has an average daily high temperature of 26°C (79°F) and an average low of 19°C (66°F).

In July, the coldestmonth of the year, the average daily high temperature is 16°C (61°F), and the average low is 8°C (46°F).

High and low temperatures are slightly more extreme in theinland suburbs, which are farther from the moderating influence of Port Jackson.

The average annual precipitation of 1,222 mm (48 in) is spread fairly evenly throughoutthe year, with a slightly drier period in spring.

Rainfall is variable in both amount and timing, however, and severe thunderstorms with hail and torrential rain occur a fewtimes each year.

Snow is extremely rare, but frosts are common in the inland suburbs during colder months. II SYDNEY AND ITS METROPOLITAN AREA Sydney is bordered on the east by the Tasman Sea and encircled on its other sides by a nearly continuous band of bushland (areas of native vegetation).

The Nepean- Hawkesbury river system flows around Sydney’s outer edges, emptying into the sea north of Sydney.

The Blue Mountains rise to the west.

Sydney is surrounded by ruggedterrain known as sandstone country, where massive sedimentary rocks underlie thin soils and hardy forests of bushland.

National parks and smaller reserves protect most ofthe area’s remaining bushland, some of which is subtropical rain forest.

This preservation creates a scenic greenbelt around Sydney. The administrative area of Sydney proper covers a relatively small area of 6.2 sq km (2.4 sq mi) that includes mainly the central business district (CBD).

The Sydneymetropolitan area covers an area of 1,580 sq km (610 sq mi), forming a rough semicircle that includes numerous suburban areas.

It extends 25 km (16 mi) north to beyondHornsby, 50 km (31 mi) west to Penrith, and 42 km (26 mi) southwest to Campbelltown. The CBD and inner suburbs are centered on Sydney Harbour.

This harbor joins with Middle Harbour and North Harbour (also known as Manly Cove) to form Port Jackson,which extends inland from the Tasman Sea to as far as Cockatoo Island.

To the west of the island, the waterway becomes narrower and is known as the Parramatta River.The narrow coastal entrance to Port Jackson, just 2 km (1 mi) wide, is between two headlands, North Head and South Head.

To the south of Port Jackson are two smallerocean inlets, Botany Bay and Port Hacking. Sydney’s scenic coastal location adds to the city’s allure.

Jutting sandstone cliffs alternate with intimate, sheltered bays along the Sydney Harbour foreshore.

Dozens ofmagnificent, expansive ocean beaches dot the coastline.

Rugged sandstone country is found to the north of Port Jackson, to the south around Port Hacking, and to the westin the Blue Mountains.

Relatively large unspoiled areas with native plants such as eucalyptus, acacia, banksia, and grevillea remain in the sandstone country.

Most ofSydney’s western suburbs are located on the generally flatter and lower terrain of the Cumberland Plain. The CBD is located south of Sydney Cove, where the boat docks of Circular Quay line the shore.

West of Sydney Cove is the well-preserved historic district of The Rocks,which retains a sense of 19th-century Sydney.

Also to the west of Sydney Cove, Sydney Harbour Bridge spans Port Jackson, linking the CBD and North Sydney.

Completedin 1932, Sydney Harbour Bridge was for many years the longest single-span arched bridge in the world.

East of Sydney Cove and overlooking Sydney Harbour stands theSydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and opened in 1973.

One of the world’s most recognizable landmarks with its arched-roof contours, theSydney Opera House is a large complex of theaters and halls for the performing arts.

These sites around Sydney Cove make up the city’s major tourist area. East of the CBD, the Royal Botanic Gardens (established in 1816) cover nearly 30 hectares (74 acres) in a living museum of native and nonnative plant species.

An adjacentpark to the south called the Domain provides a public gathering place and outdoor concert venue.

The smaller Hyde Park within the CBD completes this inner-city greenway.To the west of the CBD, the former industrial wharf sites and railroad yards of Darling Harbour were transformed for Australia’s 1988 bicentennial (200th anniversary) in thelargest urban redevelopment project ever undertaken in the country.

Darling Harbour is now a complex of popular attractions that includes the National Maritime Museum;the Harbourside Festival Marketplace; Sydney Aquarium, featuring transparent underwater viewing tunnels; the Convention and Exhibition Centre; the EntertainmentCentre, with a state-of-the-art cinema; and the Chinese Gardens (also called the Garden of Friendship because the design was a gift from Sydney’s Chinese sister city ofGuangdong). The CBD is the site of Sydney’s most important historic buildings, many of which are well-preserved examples of the ornate architectural styles of Sydney’s 19th-centurybuilding boom.

George Street includes the Victorian architecture of the Sydney Town Hall (1869) and Queen Victoria Building (1898).

On nearby streets are St.

Andrew’sCathedral (1868), the Strand Arcade (1892), and the State Theatre (1929).

On the eastern edge of the CBD is the Macquarie Street precinct, where a Victorian-stylesandstone building complex was originally completed in 1816 to house Sydney Hospital (originally Rum Hospital).

This complex now houses the hospital in its reconstructed(1894) central part, while the original north and south wings contain Parliament House (the seat of state government since the 1820s) and the Sydney Mint Museum(founded as Sydney Mint in 1854; opened as a museum in 1982).

Hyde Park Barracks (1819) and St.

James’s Church (1822) are also located in this precinct.

Modernbuildings in the CBD include Sydney Tower (1981), the city’s tallest structure at a height of 305 m (1,000 ft), with a narrow base ascending to a multilevel turret that hasrevolving restaurants and an observation deck. The CBD is the most important commercial and employment center in Sydney.

The major transportation routes—especially for public transit services—focus above all on theCBD, helping it retain a greater role than the centers of many other Australian cities.

Major suburban centers for shopping and employment include North Sydney-St.Leonards and Chatswood to the north of Port Jackson; Castle Hill to the northwest; Strathfield, Parramatta, and Blacktown to the west; Fairfield and Liverpool to thesouthwest; Hurstville and Bankstown to the south; and Bondi Junction-Edgecliff to the east.

Industrial zones are spread across many suburbs, notably those that extendsouth of the CBD to Botany Bay and several areas to the west and southwest of the CBD.

Newer high-tech industrial areas include Macquarie Park to the northwest andFrenchs Forest to the north. Sydney’s residential areas beyond the inner suburbs are mostly low-density suburbs, reflecting the “Australian dream” of owning a freestanding house on a small block ofland.

Other housing includes one- or two-story terraced houses, which are adjoined in a row, in inner suburbs such as Paddington and Surry Hills; walk-up apartment blocksin the eastern suburbs and around railway stations elsewhere; and homes on large lots in the outer suburbs, especially those to the northwest.

For public housing, the stategovernment built a number of high-rise apartment blocks in run-down inner suburbs after World War II (1939-1945).

These housing projects were soon deemedunsuccessful and were discontinued because they fostered crime and other social problems.

More recently, public housing has taken the form of separate or semidetachedhomes or two-story terraced townhouses that allow for higher densities but avoid the problems that accompany high-rise blocks.

The availability of housing has generally. »