Geography of Greater Manchester
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The geography of Greater Manchester is dominated by the conurbations which lie within its boundaries, and in this capacity, the landlocked metropolitan county is one of the United Kingdom's most urbanised and largest centres of population in the country. There is a mix of high density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but overwhelmingly the land use in the county is urban.[1]
Greater Manchester is a landlocked county spanning 492.7 square miles (1,276 km²). The Pennines rise along the eastern side of the county, through parts of Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The West Pennine Moors, as well as a number of coalfields (mainly sandstones and shales) lie in the west of the county. The rivers Mersey and Tame run through the county boundaries, both of which rise in the Pennines. Other rivers run through the county, including the Beal, the Douglas and the Irk. Black Chew Head is the highest point of Greater Manchester, rising 542 metres (1,778 ft) above sea-level, within the parish of Saddleworth.[2] Chat Moss at 10.6 square miles (27 km²) comprises the largest area of Grade 1 and 2 farmland in Greater Manchester and contains the largest block of semi-natural woodland in the county.[3]
Greater Manchester has a strong regional central business district, formed by Manchester City Centre and the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford. However, Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts,[1] each of which has a major town centre – and in some cases more than one – and many smaller settlements. Greater Manchester is arguably the most complex urban area in the United Kingdom outside London,[1] and this is reflected in the density of its transport network and the scale of needs for investment to meet the growing and diverse movement demands generated by its development pattern.
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[edit] Settlements
The table below outlines many of the county's settlements, and is formatted according to their metropolitan borough.
[edit] Urban Area
The Greater Manchester Urban Area is the larger of two main conurbations defined by the Office of National Statistics that lie within the county boundaries, the other being the Wigan Urban Area.
The Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation surrounding and including the City of Manchester. Its territory spans much, but not all of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. It excludes settlements such as Wigan and Marple from the Greater Manchester county boundaries (Wigan itself forming the Wigan Urban Area), but includes some settlements which are outside of the county boundaries, such as Wilmslow and Alderley Edge in Cheshire, and Whitworth in Lancashire. Although neither the Greater Manchester county, nor the Greater Manchester Urban Area have been granted city status in the United Kingdom, European Union literature suggests that the conurbation surrounding Manchester constitutes a homogonous urban city region.[4]
[edit] Climate
Greater Manchester experiences a temperate maritime climate, like most of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. The county's average annual rainfall is 806.6 millimetres (31.76 in)[5] compared to the UK average of 1,125.0 millimetres (44.29 in),[6] and its mean rain days are 140.4 per annum,[5] compared to the UK average of 154.4.[6] The mean temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom;[7] Greater Manchester also has a relatively high humidity level, which lent itself to the optimised and breakage-free textile manufacturing which took place around the county. Snowfall is not a common sight in the built up areas, due to the urban warming effect. However, the Pennine and Rossendale Forest hills around the eastern and northern edges of the county receive more snow, and roads leading out of the county can be closed due to heavy snowfall,[8] notably the A62 road via Standedge, the A57 (Snake Pass) towards Sheffield,[9] and the M62 over Saddleworth Moor.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high °C (°F) | 6.4 (43.5) | 6.6 (43.9) | 8.9 (48.0) | 11.6 (52.9) | 15.3 (59.5) | 18.2 (64.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 19.5 (67.1) | 17.0 (62.6) | 13.7 (56.7) | 9.1 (48.4) | 7.1 (44.8) | |
| Avg low temperature °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) | 1.2 (34.2) | 2.5 (36.5) | 4.3 (39.7) | 7.3 (45.1) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 7.5 (45.5) | 3.6 (38.5) | 2.0 (35.6) | |
| Mean Total Rainfall mm | 69 | 50 | 61 | 51 | 61 | 67 | 65 | 79 | 74 | 77 | 78 | 78 | |
| Mean Number of Rainy Days | 18.2 | 13.1 | 15.6 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.4 | 13.6 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 16.5 | 17.0 | 17.4 | |
| Source: Worldweather.org taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office weather station at Manchester Airport. | |||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority. The Greater Manchester Area and its Regional Context. gmltp.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ Dawson, A., (1992), The Relative Hills of Britain - Chapter 6: The County Tops, Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe, Cumbria.
- ^ Salford City Council (2007). Chat Moss (http). salford.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
- ^ State of the English Cities: Volume 1 Produced for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (2006). Online Report Accessed December 17, 2006.
- ^ a b Manchester Airport 1971–2000 weather averages. Met Office (2001). Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
- ^ a b UK 1971–2000 averages. Met Office (2001). Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
- ^ Met Office (2007). Annual UK weather averages. Met Office. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
- ^ Roads chaos as snow sweeps in Manchester. Manchester Evening News (2005). Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
- ^ Peak District sightseer's guide – Snake Pass. High Peak (2002). Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
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