For the automobile, see Skyline

For the Nigeria-based airline, see Skyline.

A skyline is best described as the overall or partial view or relief of a city's tall buildings and structures. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines are a good representation of a city’s overall power; the more prominent the skyline, the more money the city has to spend. Skylines also serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as no two skylines are alike. Skylines that are stretched out to a large (sometimes panoramic) view because of large cities or twin cities are called cityscapes. In many but not all metropolises, skyscrapers play a significant role in defining the skyline.

Types of skyline views

• Daytime: A normal, generally widestretched view of a city's skyline that is during the daytime. Sometimes used during dawn and dusk to use the setting and rising sun in the background.
• Silhouette: A skyline where buildings are blended together as one black shape that usually includes only one layer of the skyline.
• Nightime: A skyline during the nightime. What one sees of buildings is mainly the lighting inside, and sometimes illumination on the outside, for decoration or advertizing. For cities on lakes and oceans the reflective water adds to the view, and is also commonly used in pictures.

External links

• Birmingham UK
• http://www.skyscrapernews.com
• The world's most impressive skylines: Skyscrapers.com