Editing Perth (section)

=== Geology and landforms ===
{{See also|List of islands of Perth, Western Australia}}
The largest river flowing through Perth is the Swan River, named for the native [[black swan]]s by [[Willem de Vlamingh]], captain of a Dutch expedition and namer of Western Australia's [[Rottnest Island]], who discovered the birds while exploring the area in 1697.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccentre.wa.gov.au/index.cfm?event=heritageIconsJanuary |title = 175th Anniversary of Western Australia&nbsp;– Heritage Icons: January&nbsp;– The Swan River|access-date =13 November 2008 |date = 31 December 2004 |publisher=Department of the Premier and Cabinet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206041947/http://www.ccentre.wa.gov.au/index.cfm?event=heritageIconsJanuary |archive-date=6 December 2008}}</ref> This water body is also known as ''Derbarl Yerrigan''.<ref name="det-derbarlyerrigan">{{cite web | url=http://www.det.wa.edu.au/aboriginaleducation/apac/detcms/aboriginal-education/apac/regions/beechboro/history-of-the-swan-district.en?oid=MultiPartArticle-id-9430685 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105521/http://www.det.wa.edu.au/aboriginaleducation/apac/detcms/aboriginal-education/apac/regions/beechboro/history-of-the-swan-district.en?oid=MultiPartArticle-id-9430685 | url-status=dead | archive-date=24 December 2013 | title=History of the North Metro Region | publisher=Government of Western Australia | work=Department of Education | access-date=27 August 2013}}</ref> The city centre and most of the suburbs are on the sandy and relatively flat [[Swan Coastal Plain]], which lies between the [[Darling Scarp]] and the [[Indian Ocean]]. The soils of this area are quite infertile.

Much of colonial Perth was built on the [[Perth Wetlands]], a series of freshwater wetlands running from [[Herdsman Lake]] in the west through to [[Claisebrook Cove]] in the east.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://edit.epa.wa.gov.au/EPADocLib/EPA-bulletin_372.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213083252/http://edit.epa.wa.gov.au/EPADocLib/EPA-bulletin_372.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 December 2013 |title=The Value of Wetlands |first=Norm |last=Godfrey |date=July 1989 |conference=Planning and Management for Wetland Conservation Conference, 15 June 1988 |volume=372 |publisher=Environmental Protection Authority |location=Perth, Western Australia |pages=4–11 |isbn=0-7309-1911-0 |access-date=11 October 2013 }}</ref>

To the east, the city is bordered by a low escarpment called the Darling Scarp. Perth is on generally flat, rolling land, largely due to the high amount of sandy soils and deep [[bedrock]]. The Perth metropolitan area has two major river systems, one made up of the Swan and [[Canning River (Western Australia)|Canning]] Rivers, and one of the [[Serpentine River (Western Australia)|Serpentine]] and [[Murray River (Western Australia)|Murray]] Rivers, which discharge into the [[Peel Inlet]] at [[Mandurah]]. The [[Perth-Gingin Shrublands and Woodlands]] and [[Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain]] straddle the metropolitan area.