Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
The Blue Mountains is a mountainous region in New South Wales, Australia. It borders on Sydney's metropolitan area, its foothills starting approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of the state capital. The area begins on the west side of the Nepean River and extends westward as far as Coxs River. Geologically, it is situated in the central parts of the Sydney Basin.
Consisting mainly of a sandstone plateau, the area is dissected by gorges up to 760 metres (2,490 ft) deep. The highest point of the range is Mount Werong at 1,215 metres (3,986 ft) above sea level. A large part of the Blue Mountains is incorporated into the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site, consisting of seven national park areas and a conservation reserve.
The Blue Mountains area includes the local government areas of the City of Blue Mountains, the City of Hawkesbury, the City of Lithgow and Oberon.
Read more about Blue Mountains (New South Wales): Aboriginal Inhabitants, European History, Etymology, Physiography, Climate, Geography, World Heritage Listing, Fauna, Tourist Attractions, Recreational Activity
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“Trees appeared in groups and singly, revolving coolly and blandly, displaying the latest fashions. The blue dampness of a ravine. A memory of love, disguised as a meadow. Wispy clouds—the greyhounds of heaven.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“The mountains will be in labor and bring forth a ridiculous mouse.”
—Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] (65–8 B.C.)
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)