The geography of Greater Manchester is dominated by one of the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan areas, and in this capacity the landlocked metropolitan county constitutes one of the most urbanised and densely populated areas of the country. There is a mix of high density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but overwhelmingly the land use in the county is urban.
Greater Manchester is a landlocked county spanning (39th largest in England). The Pennines rise along the eastern side of the county, through parts of the boroughs of Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The West Pennine Moors, as well as a number of coalfields (mainly sandstones and shales) lie in the west of the county. The rivers Mersey, Irwell and Tame run through the county boundaries, each of which rise in the Pennines. Other rivers run through the county, including the Beal, the Douglas, the Etherow, the Goyt, the Irk, the Medlock and the Roch. Black Chew Head is the highest point of Greater Manchester, rising above sea-level, within the parish of Saddleworth. Chat Moss at comprises the largest area of Grade 1 and 2 farmland in Greater Manchester and contains the largest block of semi-natural woodland in the county. Wardle is the most northerly settlement of Greater Manchester and Ramsden Clough the most northerly point; the suburb of Woodford the most southerly settlement and New Hall Farm (by the River Dean) the most southerly point.
Greater Manchester has a strong regional central business district, formed by Manchester City Centre and the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford. However, Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has a major town centre – and in some cases more than one – and many smaller settlements. Greater Manchester is arguably the most complex urban area in the United Kingdom outside London, and this is reflected in the density of its transport network and the scale of needs for investment to meet the growing and diverse movement demands generated by its development pattern.
Settlements
The following table outlines the county's major settlements, formatted according to metropolitan borough.
Physical and extreme points
County top
Highest point (County Top) – Black Chew Head ( above sea level), at
Extremities
The extreme points of Greater Manchester are:
Northernmost point – Ramsden Clough at
Northernmost settlement – Wardle at
Southernmost point – New Hall Farm/River Dean at
Southernmost settlement – Woodford at
Westernmost point – Pimbo/Sand Brook at
Westernmost settlement – Orrell at
Easternmost point – Holme Clough Croft (on Saddleworth Moor) at
Easternmost settlement – Diggle at
Geographic midpoint
Centroid/Geographic midpoint – St Matthew's Church, Crumpsall
Borough tops
The following lists and ranks the highest point of each of Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs:
Geology
The underlying geology of Greater Manchester is dominated by rocks from three main periods from the geologic time scale—Carboniferous, Permian-and-Triassic, and Quaternary.
Most of Manchester, and its suburban fringe to the south, is located on Permian sandstones and red Triassic sandstones and mudstones, mantled by thick deposits of till and pockets of sand and gravel deposited by glaciers at the end of the last glacial period, some 15,000 years ago. The oldest rocks, from the Upper Carboniferous period, are sandstones and shales of Millstone Grit present as outcrops and uplands in the north-east of Greater Manchester, such as the upland moors of Dark Peak and South Pennines to the east and northeast of Rochdale, Oldham and Stalybridge. These rocks are overlain by shales, mudstones and thin coals of Coal Measures upon which the towns of Oldham, Rochdale, Bolton and Wigan are located. An outcrop of Coal Measures extends southwards down through Tameside and into Hazel Grove.