Editing Edinburgh (section)

===Cityscape===

Occupying a narrow gap between the Firth of Forth to the north and the [[Pentland Hills]] and their outrunners to the south, the city sprawls over a landscape which is the product of early volcanic activity and later periods of intensive glaciation.
<ref name="Edwards2005">{{Cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Brian |title=Edinburgh: The Making of a Capital City |last2=Jenkins |first2=Paul |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7486-1868-2}}</ref>{{rp|64–65}} Igneous activity between 350 and 400 million years ago, coupled with [[fault (geology)|faulting]], led to the creation of tough [[basalt]] [[volcanic plug]]s, which predominate over much of the area.<ref name="Edwards2005" />{{rp|64–65}} One such example is the Castle Rock which forced the advancing ice sheet to divide, sheltering the softer rock and forming a {{cvt|1|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} tail of material to the east, thus creating a distinctive [[crag and tail]] formation.<ref name="Edwards2005" />{{rp|64–65}} Glacial erosion on the north side of the crag gouged a deep valley later filled by the now drained [[Nor Loch]]. These features, along with another hollow on the rock's south side, formed an ideal natural strongpoint upon which Edinburgh Castle was built.<ref name="Edwards2005" />{{rp|64–65}} Similarly, Arthur's Seat is the remains of a volcano dating from the [[Carboniferous period]], which was eroded by a glacier moving west to east during the ice age.<ref name="Edwards2005" />{{rp|64–65}} Erosive action such as [[plucking (glaciation)|plucking]] and [[abrasion (geology)|abrasion]] exposed the rocky crags to the west before leaving a tail of deposited glacial material swept to the east.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Piggott |first=Stuart |title=Scotland before History |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-85224-470-8 |author-link=Stuart Piggott}}</ref> This process formed the distinctive [[Salisbury Crags]], a series of [[Theralite#Teschenites|teschenite]] cliffs between Arthur's Seat and the location of the early burgh.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sill |url=http://www.landforms.eu/Lothian/sill.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901122806/http://www.landforms.eu/Lothian/sill.htm |archive-date=1 September 2014 |access-date=29 March 2013 |publisher=landforms.eu}}</ref> The residential areas of [[Marchmont]] and [[Bruntsfield]] are built along a series of [[drumlin]] ridges south of the city centre, which were [[glacial deposition|deposited]] as the glacier receded.<ref name="Edwards2005" />{{rp|64–65}}

Other prominent landforms, such as Calton Hill and Corstorphine Hill, are also products of glacial erosion.<ref name="Edwards2005" />{{rp|64–65}} The Braid Hills and Blackford Hill are a series of small summits to the south of the city centre that command expansive views looking northwards over the urban area to the Firth of Forth.<ref name="Edwards2005" />{{rp|64–65}}

[[File:Views from Edinburgh Castle to the north east 20140320.jpg|thumb|left|View over Edinburgh City Centre from [[Edinburgh Castle]]]]

Edinburgh is drained by the river named the [[Water of Leith]], which rises at the Colzium Springs in the Pentland Hills and runs for {{convert|29|km|mi|order=flip}} through the south and west of the city, emptying into the Firth of Forth at Leith.<ref name="waterofleith">{{Cite web |title=Overview of the Water of Leith |url=http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst2805.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607103453/http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst2805.html |archive-date=7 June 2010 |access-date=19 April 2009 |publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland, Institute of Geography, University of Edinburgh}}</ref> The nearest the river gets to the city centre is at [[Dean Village]] on the north-western edge of the New Town, where a deep gorge is spanned by [[Thomas Telford]]'s [[Dean Bridge]], built in 1832 for the road to [[South Queensferry|Queensferry]]. The [[Water of Leith Walkway]] is a mixed-use [[trail]] that follows the course of the river for {{cvt|19.6|km|mi|1}} from Balerno to Leith.<ref name="walkway">{{Cite web |title=The Water of Leith Walkway |url=http://www.waterofleith.org.uk/walkway/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403135441/http://www.waterofleith.org.uk/walkway/ |archive-date=3 April 2009 |access-date=19 April 2009 |publisher=Water of Leith Conservation Trust}}</ref>

Excepting the shoreline of the Firth of Forth, Edinburgh is encircled by a [[green belt]], designated in 1957, which stretches from [[Dalmeny]] in the west to [[Prestongrange]] in the east.<ref name="greenbelt">{{Cite web |date=11 August 2004 |title=Review of Green Belt policy in Scotland – Edinburgh and Midlothian |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/08/19785/41543 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607174737/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/08/19785/41543 |archive-date=7 June 2011 |access-date=10 April 2009 |publisher=Scottish Government}}</ref> With an average width of {{cvt|3.2|km|mi|0}} the principal objectives of the green belt were to contain the outward expansion of the city and to prevent the agglomeration of urban areas.<ref name="greenbelt" /> Expansion affecting the green belt is strictly controlled but developments such as [[Edinburgh Airport]] and the [[Royal Highland Showground]] at [[Ingliston]] lie within the zone.<ref name="greenbelt" /> Similarly, suburbs such as [[Juniper Green]] and Balerno are situated on green belt land.<ref name="greenbelt" /> One feature of the Edinburgh green belt is the inclusion of parcels of land within the city which are designated green belt, even though they do not connect with the peripheral ring. Examples of these independent wedges of green belt include [[Holyrood Park]] and Corstorphine Hill.<ref name="greenbelt" />