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
Famous quotes containing the words blue, mountains and/or south:
“The blue we bathe in is the blue we breathe. The blue we breathe, I fear, is what we want from life and only find in fiction. For the voyeur, fiction is what’s called going all the way.”
—William Gass (b. 1924)
“It is the sorrow; shall it melt? Ah, water
Would gush, flush, green these mountains and these valleys
And we rebuild our cities, not dream of islands.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Returned this day, the south wind searches,
And finds young pines and budding birches;
But finds not the budding man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)