The Blue Mountains are a mountainous region and a mountain range located in New South Wales, Australia. The region is considered to be part of the western outskirts of the Greater Sydney area. The region borders on Sydney's main metropolitan area, its foothills starting about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of centre of the state capital, close to Penrith. The public's understanding of the extent of the Blue Mountains is varied, as it forms only part of an extensive mountainous area associated with the Great Dividing Range. As defined in 1970, the Blue Mountains region is bounded by the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers in the east, the Coxs River and Lake Burragorang to the west and south, and the Wolgan and Colo rivers to the north. Geologically, it is situated in the central parts of the Sydney Basin.
The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 267,954-hectare (662,130-acre) national park is situated approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the Sydney CBD, and the park boundary is quite irregular as it is broken up by roads, urban areas and areas of private property. Despite the name mountains, the area is an uplifted plateau, dissected by a number of larger rivers. The highest point in the park is Mount Werong at 1,215 metres (3,986 ft) above sea level; while the low point is on the Nepean River at 20 metres (66 ft) above sea level as it leaves the park.
Glenbrook is a township of the Lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 63 kilometres (39 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. As of the 2021 Australian census Glenbrook had a population of 5,078 people.
Warrimoo is a medium-sized village in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, 273 metres above sea level. The state government's electorate is Blue Mountains and the state member is Labor's Trisha Lee Doyle.
Lawson is a town in the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Great Western Highway between Hazelbrook in the east and Bullaburra in the west. Lawson has a station on the Main Western line. The town is also served by a public swimming pool and over the years has developed into the commercial hub of the mid-mountains area, which spans from Linden to Bullaburra, boasting a significant industrialized area as well as a shopping centre located on the south-eastern side of the highway.
Medlow Bath is a village located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. Located between Katoomba and Blackheath, its altitude is about 1,050 metres (3,440 ft) AHD. It is about 115 kilometres (71 mi) west-north-west of the Sydney central business district and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-west of Katoomba. At the 2016 census, Medlow Bath had a population of 611 people.
Springwood is a town in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. Springwood is located 72 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the 2021 census, Springwood had a population 8,423 people.
The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains, on the Great Dividing Range at the far western fringe of the Greater Sydney area. Major settlements include, Katoomba, Lawson, Springwood and Blaxland.
Mount Victoria is a village in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Geographically, Mount Victoria is the westernmost village and suburb of Greater Sydney on the Great Western Highway in the City of Blue Mountains, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) west-northwest by road from the Sydney central business district and at an altitude of about 1,052 metres (3,451 ft) AHD. At the 2021 Census, the settlement had a population of 945.
Wentworth Falls is a town in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, situated approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, and about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of Katoomba, Australia on the Great Western Highway, with a Wentworth Falls railway station on the Main Western line. The town is at an elevation of 867 metres (2,844 ft) AHD. At the 2016 census, Wentworth Falls had a population of 6,076.
Hartley is a historical village in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, within the City of Lithgow local government area, located approximately 127 kilometres (79 mi) west of Sydney. Hartley is located below the western escarpment of the Blue Mountains.
Leura is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main Western railway line and Great Western Highway that bisects the Blue Mountains National Park. Leura is situated adjacent to Katoomba, the largest centre in the upper mountains, and the two towns merge along Leura's western edge.
Lapstone is a township on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. Elevation 160 m (525 ft). Lapstone is located 62 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains and is part of the federal electorate of Macquarie. Lapstone consists mostly of stand-alone housing and has a few public facilities. At the 2016 census, Lapstone had a population of 961 people. Lapstone was originally bought and developed by Mr Arthur J Hand, an Alderman of the Blue Mountains City Council.
The Lapstone Zig Zag was a zig zag railway built between Emu Plains and Blaxland stations on the Main Western Line of New South Wales in Australia. Constructed between 1863 and 1865 to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb up the eastern side of the Blue Mountains, the zig zag and associated Knapsack Viaduct, a sandstone arch viaduct, were designed by John Whitton, Engineer-in-Charge of New South Wales Government Railways, and were built by William Watkins. The zig zag was listed on the Blue Mountains local government heritage register on 27 December 1991; while the adjacent Knapsack Viaduct was listed on the New South Wales Heritage Database on 2 April 1999. The Lapstone Zig Zag was the world-first Zig Zag constructed on any main-line railway.
Blaxland railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the Blue Mountains suburb of Blaxland opening on 11 July 1867 as Wascoes, being renamed Blaxland on 21 April 1879.
Woodford is a village in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, about 90 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD. Its elevation is 609 metres (1,998 ft) above sea level. It is situated on the Great Western Highway and has a railway station on the Main Western railway line served by NSW TrainLink's Blue Mountains services. At the 2016 census, Woodford had a population of 1,934.
Bowenfels is a small town on the western outskirts of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia.
The Glenbrook Tunnel is a double-track railway tunnel located on the Main Western Line, near Glenbrook, in the City of Blue Mountains local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by the Transport Asset Holding Entity. The railway tunnel is part of the Glenbrook 1913 double-track deviation, which replaced the Glenbrook 1892 single-track deviation across the Blue Mountains. The tunnel is 283 metres (928 ft) long and was officially opened on 11 May 1913.
The Glenbrook deviation is a section of track on the Main Western line from Emu Plains to Blaxland stations in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The approximately seven-mile-long (eleven-kilometre) double-track deviation was constructed from 1911 to 1913 and replaced the single-track first Glenbrook deviation and the first Glenbrook Tunnel.
