Suwon - Geography

Geography

Suwon lies in the north of the Gyeonggi plain, just south of South Korea's capital, Seoul. It is bordered by Uiwang to the north-west, Yongin to the east, the city of Hwaseong to the south-west, and also shares a short border with Ansan to the west.

There are a few hills around Suwon. The highest of these is Gwanggyosan to the north, on the border with Yongin, though those to the east are more numerous. Gwanggyosan is 582 metres (1,909 ft) above sea level.

Most of the streams passing through Suwon originate on Gwanggyosan or other nearby peaks. Since Suwon is bounded to the east by other hills, the streams, chiefly the Suwoncheon (and one notable tributary being the Jungbocheon), flow southwards through the city, eventually emptying into the Yellow Sea at Asan Bay. The entirety of Suwon is drained in this manner.

As is true of all the South Korean mainland, there are no natural lakes in Suwon. There are, however, many small reservoirs, namely Seoho (서호) near Hwaseo Station, Ilwon Reservoir (일원 저수지) near Sungkyunkwan University, Bambat Reservoir (밤밭 저수지) near Sungkyunkwan University Station, Ilwang Reservoir (일왕 저수지) in Manseok Park, Pajang Reservoir (파장 저수지) near the North Suwon exit of the Yeongdong Expressway, Gwanggyo Reservoir (광교 저수지) at the foot of Gwanggyosan, Woncheon and Sindae Reservoirs (원천 저수지 & 신대 저수지) near Ajou University 아주대학교, Geumgok Reservoir (금곡 저수지), a small reservoir at the foot of Chilbosan, and the larger Wangsong Reservoir (왕송 저수지), located mainly in the city of Uiwang, but its dam located in Suwon.

At the closest point, being the Chilbosan ridge (239m) to the west on the border with Ansan, Suwon lies 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the Yellow Sea coast.