The city is bounded by the Santa Lucía River to the east and north and by the Río de la Plata to the south.

Spanning the 23rd to the 39th km of Route 1 (also known as the "Brigadier General Manuel Oribe Highway"), Ciudad del Plata forms part of the conurbation of the capital Montevideo.

It was a group of independent fragments, which became integrated into one populated centre, as a result of the westward expansion of the metropolitan area of Montevideo.

[citation needed] According to the legislative decree Nº 18.052, "the area enclosed by the River Santa Lucia, the Rio de la Plata and kilometre 35 of National Route 1" received city status under the name "Ciudad del Plata" on 25 October 2006, "integrating the areas Delta del Tigre y Villas, Playa Pascual, Parque Postel, Monte Grande and Santa Monica".

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay[4] The names of the various barrios (neighbourhoods) composing Ciudad del Plata are: Delta del Tigre, Sofima, Villa Rives, San Fernando, Autódromo Nacional, San Fernando Chico, Parque del Plata, Monte Grande, Safici (Parque Postel), Las Violetas, Penino, Santa Mónica, Santa María, Santa Victoria, San Luis, Playa Pascual, Villa Olímpica.