Geography and Climate
Gyeongju lies in the southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, and is bounded by the metropolitan city of Ulsan on the south. Within the province, its neighbors include Pohang on the north, Cheongdo County on the southwest, and Yeongcheon on the northwest. Gyeongju is located about 50 kilometers (31 mi) north of Busan. To the east, it has no neighbor but the sea.
Most of Gyeongju lies in the Gyeongsang Basin, but a few areas of the city belong to the Pohang Basin, such as Eoil-ri and Beomgok-ri in Yangbuk-myeon, and part of Cheonbuk-myeon. The Gyeongsang Basin areas consist of Bulguksa intrusive rock penetrating layers of sedimentary rocks, mainly granite and porphyry. By contrast, the Pohang Basin areas are made up of stratum that formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era, which consist of igneous rock, aqueous rock, porphyry, sandstone, and tuff.
Low mountains are widespread throughout Gyeongju. The highest of these are the Taebaek Mountains, which run along the city's western border. Gyeongju's highest point, Munbok Mountain (文福山), is 1,014 meters (3,327 ft) above sea level. This peak lies in Sannae-myeon, on the border with Cheongdo. East of the Taebaek range, other western peaks such as Danseok Mountain lie within the Jusa subrange. The city's eastern peaks, including Toham Mountain, belong to the Haean Mountains and Dongdae Mountains.
Gyeongju's drainage patterns are shaped by these lines of mountains. The Dongdae Mountains divide a narrow foothills area on their east, and various internal river systems to the west. Most of the city's interior is drained by the small Hyeongsan River, which flows north from Ulsan and meets the sea at Pohang Harbor. The Hyeongsan's chief tributaries include the Bukcheon and Namcheon, which join it in Gyeongju Basin. The southwestern corner of Gyeongju, on the far side of the Taebaek range, drains into the Geumho River, which then flows into the Nakdong. A small area of the south, just west of the Dongdae range, drains into the Taehwa River, which flows into the Bay of Ulsan.
The Gyeongju coastline runs for 36.1 kilometers (22.4 mi) between Pohang in the north and Ulsan in the south. There are no islands or large bays, only the small indentations made by the small streams flowing off the Dongdae ridgeline. Because of this, the city has no significant ports, though there are 12 small harbors. One such harbor in Gyeongju's southeast corner is home to the Ulsan base of the National Maritime Police. This base is responsible for security over a wide area of South Korea's east-central coast.
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