On a world map the co-ordinates of the city of Liverpool are 53o latitude north and longitude 3o west. Liverpool is really a metropolitan borough of Merseyside and an unitary authority in its own proper. Nonetheless, it also still maintains historical links with the county of Lancashire, to which it was when part of. The Merseyside metropolis derives its name from the River Mersey and encompasses the cities and towns along its banks, estuary and hinterland. Liverpool is on the eastern bank of the River Mersey and is the fifth largest in England, having a population exceeding 440,000 in an location of around 11100 hectares. The population density in Liverpool is about 40 per hectare.
It has been established that there had been settlements along the banks of the River Mersey, in the area we now know as Liverpool, dating back to the 1st century AD. These settlements would have been small fishing communities which, over the centuries, amalgamated into a heavily urbanised location by as early as the 12th century. The surface geology of Liverpool is rarely more than 10 metres thick and is really a pebbly silty clay, with some sand and gravel deposits, which had been all laid down by the retreating glaciers during the last ice age. The dominant bedrock in Liverpool is sandstone that was laid down in the Triassic era around 250 million years ago. To the west, the city also borders on to Carboniferous shale, mudstone and sandstone deposits too as the Lancashire Coalfield deposits. At one time the coal deposits had been workable but now, with most of the remaining deposits becoming below 1200m they're deemed unviable economically. Nonetheless, the possible of coal bed Methane as a source of potentially clean energy is becoming studied, which may result in the coal deposits having a further use. Within the early 1990s an oil and gas field was discovered in Liverpool Bay, out beyond The Wirral. Capable of producing 10 million cubic metres of gas and 70,000 barrels of oil a day, the field is now economically crucial to the region with an annual turnover exceeding ?60 million. With supplies of sand, gravel and clay all accessible locally the conventional building materials used in Liverpool have been moulded bricks and clay tiles for roofing.
Liverpool technically extends along 21km of the east bank of the River Mersey estuary, as opposed to becoming on a river that truly flows by way of it. The Mersey is formed at the confluence of the River Tame as well as the River Goyt at Stockport in Lancashire. The famed Manchester Ship Canal joins the river at Eastham Locks and was the route by which imported cotton into the port at Liverpool was transferred to Manchester as well as the other weaving towns of Lancashire. Despite the fact that the city of Liverpool has developed around a ridge of seven distinct hills the land rarely rises above 50m, with the highest point being at Everton Hill, 70m.
The climate in Liverpool is typical of England being a temperate 1. With most of its weather systems arriving on the prevailing westerly winds, the average temperature in January is 50C and July it's 150C. On average Liverpool receives less than 750ml of rainfall a year which, taking into consideration its location on the west coast of England is surprising. However, the landmass of Ireland, to the west, absorbs much of the rainfall coming off the Atlantic Ocean that would otherwise fall on Liverpool. The average expectancy of rain in Liverpool is about 175 days a year. The temperature in January is more significant than may be expected for a city inside the north of England. This is since the city, and its port, benefit from the blanket effect of the North Atlantic Drift.
For several years Liverpool was looked at as an economically depressed region having a stock of low price and poor good quality housing. The recent regeneration of the city has observed the price of the city's housing stock rise by up to 15% a year over the last 10 years. At this time house prices in Liverpool fluctuate compared to regional and national trends depending on the sort of property, but the housing market here can be a buoyant 1. In early 2007, a semi-detached 3 bedroom dwelling in Liverpool on average cost ?155,000, which was the identical as the regional average but lower than the national average, which was ?185,000. At ?290,000 the average cost of a typical 4 bed-roomed detached house in Liverpool is yet again about the same as the regional average but almost 10% below the national average. A two bed-roomed terraced residence in Liverpool will cost about ?100,000, which is just as before about the regional average but practically 20% below the national average. The average regional value of a two bed roomed flat is ?115,000 whereas In Liverpool it is ?150,000 a figure which is also slightly greater than the national average.