Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains rise west of Sydney where the Great Dividing Range approaches the coastal plain. The Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers mark much of the eastern edge, while the Coxs River and Lake Burragorang close the western and southern side; the Wolgan and Colo rivers shape the northern limits. Their central mass belongs to the Sydney Basin.

The landscape is a deeply dissected sandstone plateau. Long ridges divide steep gorges, and the range carries a watershed between the Coxs River and the Grose and Wolgan rivers. Eucalyptus forest covers much of the broken country, giving the distant mountain wall its characteristic blue haze. These physical barriers once made passage inland difficult, and the ridge has long guided routes and settlements along its heights.

Gundungurra and Dharug people have lived in the region for millennia, with knowledge of its valleys, escarpments and products embedded in a broader upland country. In 1813, Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson crossed the range and opened the interior to British settlement. The hills remained a boundary in memory and practice, joining coastal Sydney to the inland tablelands through a narrow network of roads and valleys.