New South Wales is the fourth largest state in Australia. It is 801,600 sq km in size.
About 6 million people live in New South Wales. One in three Australians lives in New South Wales.
Sydney
Sydney is the capital of the state of New South Wales. It is Australia's oldest and largest city. The defining symbols of Sydney are its Opera House and "coat hanger bridge".
Sydney is the commercial capital of Australia.
About 3.8 million people live in the greater Sydney area.
The Beach
Bondi and Manly are some of the famous beaches along the New South Wales coast a short distance from Sydney.
Blue Mountains
The Blue Mountains rise from the coastal plains about 65 kilometres west of Sydney. They are composed of sandstone deposited over 170 million years ago that was then pushed up to form a plateau which was subsequently eroded by wind, rain and water leaving spectacular gorges, pinnacles and cliffs. The highest point is about 1100 meters above sea level.
The towering cliffs of these mountains presented a seemly impassable barrier to early European settlers. Even today most parts are only accessible to experienced bushwalkers.
WHY ARE THEY SO BLUE?
The Blue Mountains are covered with eucalyptus trees which constantly release very fine droplets of oil into the atmosphere. These droplets cause the blue light-rays from the sun to be scattered more effectively (knows as Rayliegh Scattering) making the whole area look bluer.