Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 120,652, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities. It is the smallest and most northerly of the Australian capital cities, and acts as the Top End's regional centre.

Over time Darwin has grown from a pioneer outpost and small port into one of Australia's most modern and multicultural cities. Its proximity to Asia makes it an important Australian gateway to countries such as Indonesia and East Timor. The Stuart Highway begins in Darwin, ending at Port Augusta in South Australia.

The city itself is built on a low bluff overlooking the harbour. Its suburbs spread out over some area, beginning at Lee Point in the north and stretching to Berrimah in the east — past Berrimah, the Stuart Highway goes on to Darwin's satellite city, Palmerston, and its suburbs.

The region, like the rest of the Top End, has a tropical climate, with a wet season and a dry season. It receives heavy rainfall during the Wet, and is well-known for its spectacular lightning.

The original inhabitants of the greater Darwin area are the Larrakia people. On 9 September 1839, HMS Beagle sailed into Darwin harbour during its surveying of the area. John Clements Wickham named the region "Port Darwin" in honour of former shipmate and famed scientist Charles Darwin. Although, it should be noted that it was not Darwin's scientific achievements that earned him this honor. Wickham was merely assigned to name the previously unnamed Australian ports and did so by going through a list of former shipmates. Darwin's name happened to come up when naming this particular port.

Having been almost entirely rebuilt twice, once due to Japanese air raids during World War II and again after being devastated by Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the city is one of Australia's most modern capitals.

Geography
Darwin is situated in the Northern Territory, on the Timor Sea. The town proper is built on a low bluff overlooking Darwin harbour, flanked by Frances Bay to the east and Cullen Bay to the west. The remainder of the city is flat and low-lying, and coastal areas are home to recreational reserves, extensive beaches, and excellent fishing.

Darwin is closer to the capitals of five other countries than to the capital of Australia: Darwin is 3,969 kilometres (2,466 mi) away from Canberra. Dili (East Timor) is 656 kilometres (408 mi) from Darwin, Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) is 1,818 kilometres (1,130 mi), Jakarta (Indonesia) is 2,700 kilometres (1,678 mi) from Darwin, Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) is 2,607 kilometres (1,620 mi) from Darwin, and Melekeok (Palau) is 2,247 kilometres (1,396 mi) from Darwin.

Even Singapore is only slightly farther away at 3,350 kilometres (2,082 mi), as is Manila (Philippines) at 3,206 kilometres (1,992 mi), and Honiara (Solomon Islands) at 3,198 kilometres (1,987 mi).[12] Ambon, Indonesia is only 881 kilometres (547 mi) away from Darwin.

Along with its importance as a gateway to Asia, Darwin also acts as an access point for the Kakadu National Park, Arnhem Land, and northerly islands such as Groote Eylandt and the Tiwi Islands. The city is the largest in the area, and provides services for these remote settlements.

City and suburbs
Darwin and its suburbs spread in an approximately triangular shape, with the older southwestern suburbs - and the city itself - forming one corner, the newer northern suburbs in another, and the eastern suburbs, progressing towards Palmerston, forming the third.

The older part of Darwin is separated from the newer northern suburbs by Darwin International Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base. Palmerston is a satellite city 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Darwin that was established in the 1980s and is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Australia. The rural areas of Darwin including Howard Springs, Humpty Doo and Berry Springs are experiencing strong growth.

Darwin's central business district is bounded by Daly Street in the north-west, McMinn Street in the north-east, Mitchell Street on the south-west and Bennett Street on the south-east. The CBD has been the focus of a number of major projects, including the billion dollar redevelopment of the Stokes Hill wharf waterfront area including a convention centre with seating for 1500 people and approximately 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) of exhibition space. The development will also include hotels, residential apartments and public space.

The city's main industrial areas are along the Stuart Highway going towards Palmerston. The largest shopping precinct in the area is Casuarina Square.

The most expensive residential areas are located along the coast in suburbs such as Larrakeyah and Brinkin, despite the slight risk these low-lying regions face during cyclones and higher tides. Inner, eastern suburbs such as Malak and Karama are home to lower-income households.

Climate
Wet Season storm at nightDarwin has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with distinct wet and dry seasons and the average maximum temperature is similar all year round. The dry season runs from April/May to October (the southern hemisphere winter), during which nearly every day is warm and sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%.

There is very little rainfall between May and September. In the coolest months of June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as 14 °C (57 °F), but very rarely lower, and frost has never been recorded.

The wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March (the southern hemisphere summer), when thunderstorms are common and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70% during the wettest months.[20] It does not rain every day during the wet season, but most days are warm to hot with plentiful cloud cover; January averages under 6 hours of bright sunshine daily.

The hottest month is November, just before the onset of the main rainy season. Due to its long dry season, Darwin has the most daily average sunshine hours (8.4) of any Australian capital with the most sunshine from April to November. The sun passes directly overhead in mid October and mid February. Climatically Darwin has more in common with Singapore than Sydney as it sits well inside the tropical zone.

Darwin is located in one of the most lightning prone areas in the world. In 2002 a single thunderstorm produced 1,634 lightning strikes in Darwin in just a few hours, which is the same amount that Perth, Western Australia, experiences in an entire year.