| Perth
is the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia.
A population of 1,477,800 [1] (June 2005) makes Perth
the largest city in Western Australia and home to three-quarters
of the state's residents. The city is also the fourth
most populous urban area in Australia.
The metropolitan area is located
in the south west of the continent between the Indian
Ocean and a low coastal escarpment known as the Darling
Range. The central business district and suburbs of Perth
are situated on the Swan River.
Traditionally, Perth and the Swan
River have usually been viewed and photographed from Kings
Park, situated on a hill to the south-west of the city
or from the South Perth foreshore. The historical record
of the view shows clear river banks close to the city
and a low skyline through to the 1960s. Since then, the
filling in of the northern side of Perth Water and crowding
of the skyline have continued unabated. Perth's city skyline
displays the economic prosperity the city currently enjoys.
The tallest building in the city is Central Park, which
is the sixth tallest building in Australia.
Perth is set on the Swan River, so named
because of the native black swans. Traditionally, this
water body has always been known by local inhabitants
as Derbal Yerrigan (Indigenous Affairs 2006, for example)
p.4. A Dutch expedition in 1697 captained by Willem de
Vlamingh led to Vlamingh naming the river after the black
swans. [9] The city centre and most of the suburbs are
located on the sandy and relatively flat Swan Coastal
Plain, which lies between the Darling Scarp and the Indian
Ocean. The metropolitan area extends to Yanchep in the
north, Mandurah in the south, total distance of approximately
125 kilometres (78 mi) by road. From the Coast in the
west to Mundaring in the east, a total distance of approximately
50 kilometres (30 mi) by road.
Satellite imagery of PerthThe coastal suburbs take advantage
of Perth's oceanside location and clean beaches. To the
east, the city is bordered by a low escarpment called
the Darling Scarp. Perth is on generally flat, rolling
land - largely due to the high amount of sandy soils and
deep bedrock. The Perth metropolitan area has two major
river systems, the first is made up of the Swan and Canning
Rivers. The second is that of the Serpentine and Murray
Rivers, which discharge into the Peel Estuary at Mandurah.
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