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Revision as of 07:22, 30 November 2002 by 210.50.30.20 (talk) (correction)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Perth is the state capital city of Western Australia, the largest state in Australia. Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world, and has a population of 1,339,993 (census 2001).
Perth is set on the Swan River. It is a very spread-out city, extending to Joondalup in the north, Mandurah in the south and Midland in the east. The beachside suburbs take advantage of Perth's seaside location and clean surf 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. Its wide roads, many parks and well-designed layout make it a peaceful place to live.
The Perth metropolitan area includes over thirty local governments (cities, towns and a shire). These include Fremantle, Bayswater, Canning, Stirling, Gosnells, Nedlands, Peppermint Grove, Claremont, Victoria Park and Armadale.
The Perth city skyline is dominated by three major sky scrapers - QV1, the third tallest; the beautiful Bankwest tower, the second tallest; and Central Park, the tallest building in Perth.
Tourist attractions in Perth and district
A sun-baked city that can go weeks or even months without substantial rainfall, Perth's main attraction lies in the pristine quality of its beaches. Unbroken strecthes of golden sands run the entire length of the city's coastal suburbs. While not unlike the beaches of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Perth has not yet experienced the same level of commercialisation and development and hence, degradation, that plagues other such naturally rich Australian urban environments.
Central Perth sports an interesting feature in that King's Park sits upon a huge hill overlooking the CBD. Four times larger than Central Park, New York, King's Park contains Perth's botanical gardens as well as vast tract of natural bushland. During spring, this bursts into a world-class display of wild-flowers, which is a popular tourist attraction.
Rottnest Island, a popular weekend getaway for both locals and visitors, is located, 17 kilometres off the coast near Fremantle. The resort island features historic buildings, unusual wildlife (reachable via the many cycling tracks that are the island's main mode of transport), and pleasant beaches. A well-maintained wildlife preserve, Rottnest is popular with divers and recreational fishers, and incidentally is also home to some absolutely cranking surf (conspicuously missing from reef-sheltered Perth beaches).
Each year, around November, the island is invaded with school leavers, who celebrate their graduation with extended bouts of binge drinking and often failed attempts at sexual congress. This process is repeated across a wider demographic around New Year's eve.