Political/Cultural Geography of Sydney, Australia

University of Sydney, Thanks to blogspot.com

Sydney Opera House, Thanks to Businessweek.com

The main language in Sydney, Australia is English, but many residents speak a second language with Arabic being the most common. The main religion in Sydney is Christianity, taking up 64% of the residents. Religion is not a very strong force in Sydney because in a census done in 2006, 24% said they were not religious or put a question mark next to the question. There is no overall governing body for Sydney, instead the metropolitan area is divided into local government areas. These areas have elected councils that are responsible for functions delegated to them by the New South Wales State Government.

Physical Geography

Sydney is located on Australia’s south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. It is the largest and has the highest population in Australia. Sydney is located in a coastal basin and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the East, the Blue Mountains to the West, the Hawkesbury River to the North and Royal National Park to the South. The urban area has around 70 harbor and ocean beaches, including the well known Bondi Beach. Geographically, Sydney lies over two different regions. There is the Cumberland Plain which is a relatively flat region that is located south and west of the harbor and Hornsby Plateau. The North Shore was slower to develop because of its hilly topography and lack of access across the harbor. Sydney has a temperate climate with mild winters and warm summers. The weather is moderate closer to the sea and much hotter near the inland western suburbs. The warmest month is January and has an average air temperature of 65-78 degrees. In the winter, temperatures rarely drop below 41 degrees in coastal areas. The coldest month is July with an average air temperature of 46-61 degrees. Rainfall is pretty evenly spread throughout the year, but is slightly higher the first half of the year because of the easterly winds. Also, Sydney is not affected by monsoons, earthquakes, and hasn’t seen snow since 1836 (Wikipedia.org).

(Courtesy of Tripadvisor.com)