Manchester

Manchester is a city in the North West of England. Manchester is a centre of the arts, the media and big business as well as being the unofficial capital of Northern England. more...

The city is also world famous for its sport, being home to Manchester City and Manchester United football clubs, and having hosted the XVII Commonwealth Games.

The city is named from the old Roman name Mamucium plus ceaster, derived from the old Latin 'Castra'. Manchester is a metropolitan borough with city status. The city proper has a population of 437,000, whilst the wider urban area Greater Manchester has a population of 2,284,093. The city lies at the centre of one of the two largest metropolitan area's outside of London - Birmingham being at the centre of the other one.The city is also thought to be one of Europe's fastest growing cities.

Greater Manchester consists of the metropolitan district of Manchester, together with the surrounding boroughs of Trafford, Tameside, Salford, Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Stockport.

Geography and climate

Manchester is situated within a bowl-shaped land area, bordered to the north and east by the Pennine moors and to the south by the Cheshire Plain. The city centre is located on the East bank of the River Irwell, near the confluence of two other rivers, the River Medlock and the River Irk. The River Mersey also flows through the south of the city. Much of the inner city, especially in the south, is flat, offering extensive views of the moors from the floors of many tall buildings. Manchester's geographic features were highly influential in its early development as the world's first industrial city. These are its climate, its proximity to a sea port at Liverpool, the availability of water power from its rivers, and nearby coal reserves.

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