The Shire of Northam is located adjacent to the eastern boundary of the Perth metropolitan area. The Municipality is essentially an agricultural district. However, urban nodes are situated within the municipality, the largest of which is Wundowie, with a current population of approximately 700 people and with lesser urban nodes as Bakers Hill, Grass Valley and Clackline. The rural areas of the Shire of Northam are influenced, albeit to a lesser extent by the urban activity of the Town of Northam, which although administratively a separate Local Government surrounded by the Shire of Northam, functions as the centre for the immediate district.