page_title: City of Salford
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: City of Salford / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: The Irwell heading toward the photographer, Salford to the northwest (left), Manchester to the southeast (right).
context_page_description: The City of Salford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, named after its main settlement Salford. The borough extends west from Salford to include the towns of Eccles, Worsley, Swinton, Walkden, Little Hulton, and Irlam. The city has a population of 245,600, and is administered from the Salford Civic Centre in Swinton.
  The city's boundaries, set by the Local Government Act 1972, include five former local government districts. It is bounded on the south east by the River Irwell, which forms part of its boundary with Manchester to the east, and by the Manchester Ship Canal to the south, which forms its boundary with Trafford. The metropolitan boroughs of Wigan, Bolton and Bury lie to the west, northwest and north respectively. Some parts of the city, which lies directly west of Manchester, are highly industrialised and densely populated, but around one third of the city consists of rural open space. The western half of the city stretches across an ancient peat bog, Chat Moss.
  Salford has a history of human activity stretching back to the Neolithic age.
context_section_description: The City of Salford is bounded to the north by the boroughs of Bolton and Bury, to the south by Trafford, to the west by Wigan and to the east by Manchester. The natural mossland of Chat Moss lies in the south western corner of the city; it covers an area of about 10.6 square miles (27.5 km²), accounting for about 30% of the city's area, and lies 75 feet (23 m) above sea level. The moss makes up the largest area of prime farmland in Greater Manchester. Kersal Moor is an area of moorland spanning 8 hectares (20 acres) in Kersal; it is a local nature reserve and a Site of Biological Importance. Greenspace accounts for 55.7% of the City of Salford's total area, domestic buildings and gardens comprise 20.0%, and the rest is made up of roads and non-domestic buildings.
  To the south of Salford are the docks of Salford Quays, now home to the iconic Media City UK – the home of BBC. Media City UK is a large area that crosses the boundary into Trafford Park, Trafford. Although Salford Quays is in the City of Salford new M50 postcodes were distributed to the area to separate and create new boundaries in the early 2000s. Arguably the most affluent area in Salford, the Quays (as it is locally known) has seen regeneration and a growth in job opportunities and available housing in the 2010s.
  The River Irwell runs south east through Kearsley, Clifton and Agecroft then meanders around Lower Broughton and Kersal, Salford Crescent and the centre of Manchester, joining the rivers Irk and Medlock. Turning west, it meets the Mersey south of Irlam, where the route of the river was altered in the late 19th century to form part of the course of the Manchester Ship Canal. The ship canal, opened in 1894, forms part of Salford's southern boundaries with Trafford. The city's climate is generally temperate, like the rest of Greater Manchester. The nearest weather station is 10 miles (16 km) away at Ringway, in Manchester; the mean highest and lowest temperatures (13.2 °C (55.8 °F) and 6.4 °C (43.5 °F)) are slightly above the national average, while the annual rainfall (806.6 millimetres (31.76 in)) and average hours of sunshine (1394.5 hours) are respectively above and below the national averages.
caption: The River Irwell marks the border between Salford & Manchester
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