Adelaide

The city stretches 20 km  from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km  from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Adelaide Metropolitan Region has a total land area of 870 km2, and is at an average elevation of 50 metres  above sea level. Mount Lofty is located east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the Adelaide Hills at an elevation of 727 metres. It is the tallest point of the city and in the state south of Burra.

Much of Adelaide was bushland before British settlement, with some variation – swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast. However, much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the Cleland Conservation Park and Belair National Park. A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. The largest are the Torrens and Onkaparinga catchments. Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply, with Mount Bold Reservoir and Happy Valley Reservoir together supplying around 50% of Adelaide's requirements.
Adelaide has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, where most of the rain falls in the winter months. Of the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest, and it has a semi-arid climate influence because of its dryness. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm. Frosts are rare, with the most notable occurrences having occurred in July 1908 and July 1982. There is usually no appreciable snowfall, except at Mount Lofty and some places in the Adelaide Hills.Adelaide  is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.28 million. A resident of Adelaide is known as an "Adelaidian".

Adelaide is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St Vincent, on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The suburbs reach roughly 20 km  from the coast to the foothills but sprawl 100 km  from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.

Named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the German-born consort of King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parkland. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties, which led to world-first reforms.

As South Australia's seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area.

Today, Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food, wine and culture, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. It continues to rank highly as a livable city, being in the Top 10 in The Economist's World's Most Livable Cities index.

Adelaide has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate , where most of the rain falls in the winter months. Of the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest, and it has a semi-arid climate influence because of its dryness. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm. Frosts are rare, with the most notable occurrences having occurred in July 1908 and July 1982. There is usually no appreciable snowfall, except at Mount Lofty and some places in the Adelaide Hills.