Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevation is 32 metres (105 ft).
Penrith is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Penrith.
The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. The river between Wisemans Ferry and the Pacific Ocean marks the boundary of Greater Metropolitan Sydney in the south and the Central Coast region to the north.
The Hawkesbury River has its origin at the confluence of the Nepean River and the Grose River, to the north of Penrith and travels for approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) in a north–easterly and then a south–easterly direction to its mouth at Broken Bay, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the Tasman Sea. The Hawkesbury River is the main tributary of Broken Bay. Secondary tributaries include Brisbane Water and Pittwater, which, together with the Hawkesbury River, flow into Broken Bay and thence into the Tasman Sea north of Barrenjoey Head.
The Blue Mountains (Gundungurra/Dharug: Colomatta or Gulumada) are a mountainous region and a mountain range located in New South Wales, Australia. The region is considered to be part of the western outskirts of the Greater Sydney area. The region borders on Sydney's main metropolitan area, its foothills starting about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of centre of the state capital, close to Penrith. The public's understanding of the extent of the Blue Mountains is varied, as it forms only part of an extensive mountainous area associated with the Great Dividing Range. As defined in 1970, the Blue Mountains region is bounded by the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers in the east, the Coxs River and Lake Burragorang to the west and south, and the Wolgan and Colo rivers to the north. Geologically, it is situated in the central parts of the Sydney Basin.
The Blue Mountains Range comprises a range of mountains, plateau escarpments extending off the Great Dividing Range about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) northwest of Wolgan Gap in a generally southeasterly direction for about 96 kilometres (60 mi), terminating at Emu Plains. For about two-thirds of its length it is traversed by the Great Western Highway, the Main Western railway line and the proposed Blue Mountains tunnel. Several established towns are situated on its heights, including Katoomba, Blackheath, Mount Victoria, and Springwood. The range forms the watershed between Coxs River to the south and the Grose and Wolgan rivers to the north. The range contains the Explorer Range and the Bell Range.
The Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River, and, continuing by its downstream name, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of Sydney.
The headwaters of the Nepean River rise near Robertson, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Sydney and about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the Tasman Sea. The river flows north in an unpopulated water catchment area into Nepean Reservoir, which supplies potable water for Sydney. North of the dam, the river forms the western edge of Sydney, flowing past the town of Camden and the city of Penrith, south of which flowing through the Nepean Gorge. Near Wallacia it is joined by the dammed Warragamba River; and north of Penrith, near Yarramundi, at its confluence with the Grose River, the Nepean becomes the Hawkesbury River.