Armidale is on the banks of Dumaresq Creek, in the Northern Tablelands in the
New England region about midway between Sydney and Brisbane at an altitude (980 m
AHD) ranging from 970 metres at the valley's floor to 1,110 metres above sea level at the crests of the hills. A short distance to the east of Armidale are heavily forested steep
gorges dropping down to the eastern coastal plain. Large parts of the highlands are covered by
Palaeozoic aged
metamorphosed sedimentary rocks. Intruding into these meta-sediments are
granite plutons which decompose to form sandy soil, slightly deficient in nutrients. There are also basalt flows which are more fertile for the soil substrates. Those areas away from the deep gorge country tend to display gently undulating terrain mainly used for
pastures and where granites occur the areas are usually covered in bushland. The area contains a number of places of outstanding natural beauty and scientific interest as well as several
World Heritage national parks including the
New England National Park and the
Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. To the west is
Mount Yarrowyck Nature Reserve. The critically endangered
New England Peppermint Grassy Woodland is the main vegetation community in the region. The coastal plain can be reached directly at
Coffs Harbour via
Waterfall Way to
Dorrigo and
Bellingen on the
Bellinger River, a two-hour drive. During winter there is a problem with some air quality reduction caused by the use of solid fuel domestic wood heaters. A peer-reviewed study carried out by the University of New England in 2007 found winter woodsmoke causes 8.8 additional visits per day to GPs in Armidale for respiratory complaints, i.e., about 750 additional visits per year. Another peer-reviewed study estimated the use of wood heaters in Armidale was responsible for about 11.5 premature deaths per year with estimated annual health cost of $14.95 million – about $4720 per year for every woodheater in the city.
Climate Armidale has a
subtropical highland climate (
Köppen:
Cfb). Armidale's elevation gives it a milder climate than most of northern New South Wales, but the summers are still very warm. Winters are long and cool, with many frosty nights. Snowfall is somewhat rare, on average only one day in every three years. In Armidale, the presence of four distinct seasons makes it climatically unlike much of inland Australia; hence, the "New England" moniker and the
autumn colours are notable features of the city. Summers are characterised by warm to very warm days followed almost always by cool, sometimes cold, nights. Thunderstorms often produce heavy falls of rain and occasionally hail in the afternoons and early evenings, also bringing a sudden drop in temperature. Unlike nearby coastal areas, Armidale does not usually experience high humidity levels making most of the summer days quite comfortable. Temperatures exceed on an average of 13 afternoons per year, but rarely reach higher than . These cold frosty mornings are usually followed by sunny days. Day temperatures may make it as high as , but sometimes may not climb beyond . On 1 January 2000 many homes were damaged by extreme weather conditions which brought large hail stones, strong
winds and
flash flooding. On 21 December 2006 hail stones, high winds and flash flooding damaged more than 1,000 homes and destroyed the Armidale Livestock Exhibition Centre which collapsed entirely under the weight of accumulated hail. The city was declared a
state of emergency by
New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma the following day. On the night of 14 October 2021 at 10pm, an intense storm produced a tornado causing extensive damage. It tore away roofs and turned vehicles upside down. ==City of Armidale==