The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughly parallel to the east coast of Australia and forms the fifth-longest land-based mountain chain in the world, and the longest entirely within a single country. It is mainland Australia's most substantial topographic feature and serves as the definitive watershed for the river systems in eastern Australia, hence the name.
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.
Katoomba is the main town and council seat of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and is the administrative centre of Blue Mountains City Council. Katoomba is located on the lands of the Dharug and Gundungurra Aboriginal peoples.
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.
The Gardens of Stone National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales in eastern Australia. The 15,080-hectare (37,300-acre) national park is situated 125 kilometres (78 mi) northwest of Sydney, and 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Lithgow. The national park draws its name from the natural stone pagodas within its boundaries.
The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur regions, in New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 68,660-hectare (169,700-acre) national park is situated approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) south-west of Sydney and is contiguous with the Blue Mountains National Park and the Nattai National Park. The park was established in 1969.
The Nattai National Park is a protected area located in the Macarthur and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales, Australia. The 48,984-hectare (121,040-acre) area is situated approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of the Sydney central business district and primarily encompasses the valley of the Nattai River, which is surrounded by sandstone cliffs. Part of the Southern Highlands Shale Forest and Woodland, the park is covered in dry sclerophyll (hard-leafed) forest – mostly eucalypt, and has frequent forest fires. As of May 2024, the park has no facilities.
Blackheath is a town located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, between Katoomba and Mount Victoria in New South Wales, Australia. The town's altitude is about 1,065 m (3,494 ft) AHD and it is located about 120 km (75 mi) west north-west of Sydney, 11 km (6.8 mi) north-west of Katoomba, and about 30 km (19 mi) south-east of Lithgow.
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour and the coastal town of Kiama. Wollongong is the largest city of the Illawarra with a population of 240,000, then Shellharbour with a population of 70,000 and Kiama with a population of 10,000. These three cities have their own suburbs. Wollongong stretches from Otford in the north to Windang in the south, with Maddens Plains and Cordeaux in the west.
Great Western Highway is a 202-kilometre-long (126 mi) state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the Sydney city centre and Parramatta, being: Broadway from Haymarket to Chippendale, Parramatta Road from Chippendale to Parramatta, and Church Street through Parramatta.
The Jamison Valley forms part of the Coxs River canyon system in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated approximately 100 kilometres west of Sydney, capital of New South Wales, and a few kilometres south of Katoomba, the main town in the Blue Mountains.
The Narrow Neck Plateau, an eroded remnant of a sandstone layer situated at an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level that is part of the Blue Mountains Range which is a spur line off the Great Dividing Range, is situated immediately south-west of Katoomba in New South Wales, Australia, located within the Blue Mountains National Park. The neck separates the Jamison Valley from the Megalong Valley.
The Greater Blue Mountains Area is a World Heritage Site located in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The 1,032,649-hectare (2,551,730-acre) area was placed on the World Heritage List at the 24th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Cairns in 2000.
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.
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.
The Illawarra escarpment, or officially the Illawarra Range, is the fold-created cliffs and plateau-eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The range encloses the Illawarra region which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven River in the south.
The Kings Tableland is a plateau located in the Blue Mountains in Wollondilly Shire, New South Wales, Australia.
The Explorers Tree was a Blue Mountains ash formerly located at Explorers Hill, about 2 km north-west of Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia.
Katoomba Airfield is an Australian airfield located in the town of Medlow Bath, New South Wales. The airport is 11.5 kilometres (7.1 mi) by road from the Central Business District of the nearby city of Katoomba. It is a country airfield that has seen minimal use. The airfield is currently closed to airplanes and helicopters. The site remains available for use by emergency services.
The Blue Mountains Conservation Society is an incorporated non-governmental organisation working to protect, conserve, and advocate for the natural environment of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area in New South Wales, Australia. Its work includes the listing and protection of threatened species, populations and ecological communities of the Greater Blue Mountains and campaigns regarding climate change.
