Geography of Queensland

Continent	Australia
Coordinates	23°S143°E / 23°S 143°E /-23; 143
Area	Ranked 2nd among states and territories
• Total	1,729,742[1] km2 (667,857 sq mi)
Coastline	6,973 km (4,333 mi)
Borders	Land borders:Northern Territory,New South Wales,South Australia
Highest point	Mount Bartle Frere 1,622 m (5,322 ft)
Longest river	Flinders River 840 km (521 mi)
Largest lake	Burdekin Dam 220 km²

Thegeography ofQueensland in the north-east of Australia, is varied. It includes tropical islands, sandy beaches, flat river plains that flood after monsoon rains, tracts of rough, elevated terrain, dry deserts, rich agricultural belts and densely populated urban areas.

The total land mass of Queensland covers 22.5% of the Australian continent, an area of 1,729,742 square kilometres, making it the second largest state inAustralia.^[2] The total length of Queensland's mainland coastline is 6,973 km (4,333 mi) with another 6,374 km (3,961 mi) of island coastline.^[3] A unique geographical feature of the state is theGreat Barrier Reef,^[2] an important tourist drawcard. TheTropic of Capricorn crosses the state with about half of Queensland's area located to the north of the line.

The far western boundary with theNorthern Territory is aligned along the138th meridian east untilPoeppel Corner at the intersection of this meridian and the26th parallel south. It is here that Queensland bordersSouth Australia. The boundary follows this latitude until it reaches the 141st meridian eastHaddon Corner where the border turns south reachingCameron Corner on the29th parallel south, the most western part of the border withNew South Wales. The border follows this latitude towards the coast at about the154th meridian east before following the courses of a number of rivers, then across a number of mountain ranges until it reachesPoint Danger. These rivers are theMacintyre River,Severn River andWeir Rivers, all tributaries of theBarwon River itself a tributary of theDarling River.^[4] Southern border towns includeMungindi,Goondiwindi andTexas.

The state is divided into severalunofficial regions which are commonly used to refer to large areas of the state's vast geography. These include:

• South East Queensland in the state's coastal extreme south-eastern corner, anurban region which includes the state's three largest cities: capital cityBrisbane and popular coastal tourist destinations theGold Coast andSunshine Coast. In some definitions, it also includes the city ofToowoomba. South East Queensland accounts for more than 70% of the state's population.
• TheDarling Downs in the state's inland south-east, which consists of fertile agricultural (particularlycattle grazing) land and in some definitions includes the city of Toowoomba. The region also includes the mountainousGranite Belt, the state's coldest region which occasionally experiencessnow.
• Wide Bay–Burnett in the state's coastal south-east, to the north of the South East Queensland region. It is rich insugar cane farms and includes the cities ofBundaberg,Hervey Bay as well asFraser Island, the world's largest sand island.
• Central Queensland on the state's central coastline, which is dominated by cattle farmland andcoal mining. It contains theCapricorn Coast andWhitsunday Islands tourist regions, as well as the cities ofRockhampton andMackay.
• North Queensland on the state's northern coastline, which is dominated by cattle farmland andmining and which includes the city ofTownsville.
• Far North Queensland on the state's extreme northern coastline along theCape York Peninsula, which includestropical rainforest, the state's highest mountain,Mount Bartle Frere, theAtherton Tablelands pastoral region (dominated bysugar cane andtropical fruits), the most visited section of theGreat Barrier Reef, as well as the city ofCairns.
• South West Queensland in the state's inland south-west, which is a primarily agricultural region dominated by cattle farmland, and which includes theChannel Country region ofintertwining rivulets.
• Central West Queensland in the state's inland central-west, dominated by cattle farmland and which includes the city ofLongreach.
• North West Queensland, in the state's inland north-west along theGulf of Carpentaria, which is dominated bysavanna andmining and includes the city ofMount Isa.

Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world lies off the coast of Queensland.^[2] There are half of the world's perched or dune lakes on Fraser Island.^[5] These rare lakes, which total 80 of this type worldwide, are formed in depressions between sand dunes and have no natural inflow or outflow.Magnetic Island,Heron island,Great Keppel Island,Hamilton Island and theWhitsunday Islands are known for their tourist resorts.Mornington Island andGreat Palm Island sustain large aboriginal communities. In the Torres StraitThursday Island is the administrative and commercial centre of theTorres Strait Islands.Hinchinbrook Island, a large, mountainous island offshore fromCardwell, is completely preserved within thenational park.North West Island is a coral cay that sustains important nesting grounds for sea birds and turtles.

The islands ofBribie,Moreton,North Stradbroke andSouth Stradbroke are located in the south east corner of the state. North Stradbroke Island is the second largest sand island in the world.^[6] As Bribie Island is connected by a bridge over thePumicestone Passage it is the most developed island in the region.

To the north west of Queensland is theGulf of Carpentaria. North ofCape York Peninsula isTorres Strait with manyTorres Strait Islands, the most northerly of which isBoigu Island at the10th parallel south. To the east of Queensland lies theCoral Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean. Major bays along the coast includePrincess Charlotte Bay,Shoalwater Bay north ofYeppoon,Hervey Bay between Fraser Island and the mainland,Trinity Bay off Cairns andMoreton Bay off Brisbane. TheGreat Sandy Strait is a passage extending south of Hervey Bay, between the mainland and Fraser Island. Beaches on the Gold Coast and theSunshine Coast are long and sandy, attracting tourists including surfers.^[7] Further north the waves are dampened by the barrier reefs.

Queensland's largestdam is theBurdekin Dam, followed byLake Awoonga. There are no large natural lakes in the state. There are a few natural lakes created by volcanic craters and coastal lagoons mainly in South East Queensland. The lakes in the arid and semi-arid regions of Queensland experience low, highly variable rates of rainfall together with very high evaporation rates.^[8]

Queensland contains hundreds of rivers and many more smaller creeks. The discharge from these rivers, particularly in thetropical north of the state, accounts for 45% of the nation'ssurface runoff.^[9] Major coastal rivers include theMitchell River,Fitzroy River,Mary River andBrisbane River with theFlinders River being the longest at 840 km (520 mi). Inland are the northern tributaries of the Murry River including theMaranoa River,Warrego River andCondamine River. Rivers of theLake Eyre Basin includeCooper Creek with its two major tributariesThomson River and theBarcoo River as well as theGeorgina River. TheWenlock River contains the highest diversity of freshwater fish of all Australian rivers.^[10]

Barron Falls in the north of the state is one of the most striking. During heavy rains the landscape is transformed into a gushing torrent. SimilarlyPurlingbrook Falls in theGold Coast Hinterland is most spectacular after strong downpours.Wallaman Falls west ofIngham in North Queensland is Australia's largest single drop waterfall.^[11] Other notable waterfalls includeMilla Milla Falls,Purlingbrook Falls andCoomera Falls.

Some of Queensland's towns are located on relatively flat land on the banks of rivers. During severe floods, such as the2010 Queensland floods, numerous towns are inundated as flood waters rise.Levees have alleviated some minor flooding but after prolonged periods of heavy rainfall the sheer volume of flood waters cannot be held back. Disruptions from flooding have become accepted in inland towns likeCharleville and to a lesser degree in coastal towns such asGympie.

Eastern Queensland is dominated by theGreat Dividing Range in contrast to the low-relief of western areas. East of the Great Dividing Range is a narrow coastal strip, known as theAustralian north-east coast drainage division which contains most of the state's population. It is along this strip that the state's most important agricultural product,sugar cane, is grown in the fertile soils and moist climate.

Other elevated areas include eastern parts of theBarkly Tableland, Atherton Tablelands, Central Highlands containingCarnarvon Gorge and the Granite Belt, Queensland's primary wine-producing region. TheBunya Mountains an isolated spur of the Great Divide are especially scenic and provide important habitat in a region that has suffered from excess land clearing. Closer to the coast is theGlasshouse Mountains, a series of volcanic plugs which were named by the explorer CaptainJames Cook. Another natural wonder is the series of mountain ranges in South East Queensland known as theScenic Rim.

The highest mountains in the state areMount Bartle Frere at 1,622 m (5,322 ft),Mount Bellenden Ker at 1,593 m (5,226 ft),Mount Superbus at 1,375 m (4,511 ft), atMount Barney 1,359 m (4,459 ft) andThornton Peak reaching 1,374 m (4,508 ft) above sea level.

Because of its size, there is significant variation in climate across the state. There is ample rainfall along the coastline, with amonsoonal wet season in thetropical north, andhumid sub-tropical conditions along the southern coastline. Low rainfall and hot humid summers are typical for the inland and west. Elevated areas in the south-eastern inland can experience temperatures well below freezing in mid-winter providingfrost and, rarely,snowfall. The climate of the coastal regions is influenced by warm ocean waters, keeping the region free from extremes of temperature and providing moisture for rainfall.^[12]

There are six predominant climatic zones in Queensland,^[13] based on temperature and humidity:

• Hot humid summer, warm humid winter (far north and coastal):Cairns,Innisfail
• Hot humid summer, warm dry winter (north and coastal):Townsville,Mackay
• Hot humid summer, mild dry winter (coastal elevated areas and coastal south-east):Brisbane,Bundaberg,Rockhampton
• Hot dry summer, mild dry winter (central inland and north-west):Mt Isa,Emerald,Longreach
• Hot dry summer, cool dry winter (southern inland):Roma,Charleville,Goondiwindi
• Warm humid summer, cold dry winter (elevated south-eastern areas):Toowoomba,Warwick,Stanthorpe

The annual mean climatic statistics^[14] for selected Queensland cities are shown below:

The coastal far north of the state is the wettest region in Australia, withMount Bellenden Ker, south of Cairns, holding many Australian rainfall records with its annual average rainfall of over 8 metres.^[19]Snow is rare in Queensland, although it does fall with some regularity along the far southern border with New South Wales, predominantly in the Stanthorpe district although on rare occasions further north and west. The most northerly snow ever recorded in Australia occurred nearMackay; however, this was exceptional.^[20]

Natural disasters are often a threat in Queensland: severetropical cyclones can impact the central and northern coastlines and cause severe damage,^[21] with recent examples includingLarry,Yasi,Ita andDebbie. Flooding from rain-bearing systems can also be severe and can occur anywhere in Queensland. One of the deadliest and most damaging floods in the history of the state occurred inearly 2011.^[22] Severe springtimethunderstorms generally affect the south-east and inland of the state and can bring damaging winds, torrential rain, largehail and eventornadoes.^[23] Thestrongest tornado ever recorded in Australia occurred in Queensland nearBundaberg.^[24]Droughts andbushfires can also occur; however, the latter are generally less severe than those that occur in southern states.

The highest official maximum temperature recorded in the state was 49.5 °C (121.1 °F) at Birdsville Police Station on 24 December 1972,^[25] although theModerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA'sAqua satellite measured a ground surface temperature of 69.3 °C (156.7 °F). Queensland has the highest average maximums of any Australian state, andStanthorpe,Hervey Bay,Mackay,Atherton,Weipa andThursday Island are the only large population centres not to have recorded a temperature above 40 °C (104 °F). The lowest recorded minimum temperature is −10.6 °C (12.9 °F) atStanthorpe on 23 June 1961 and at The Hermitage (nearWarwick) on 12 July 1965.^[26] Temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) are, however, generally uncommon over the majority of populated Queensland.

Queensland's capital city, Brisbane is located in the most populous region South East Queensland. Also located here is theGold Coast,Ipswich,Logan,Redcliffe City andToowoomba the second largest inland city in Australia is located 120 km west of Brisbane on the Darling Downs as well asWarwick.

Townsville is the largest city in the state's north. Other cities in the north of the state includeMount Isa a mining town,Charters Towers,Mackay, the country's biggest exporter of sugar and one of the largest coal exporters in the country andCairns. In the central regions of the state are the cities ofRockhampton,Bundaberg,Gladstone with its economically importantcoal exporting port facilities,Maryborough andHervey Bay. The largest ports in Queensland are thePort of Gladstone, followed by thePort of Brisbane and then thePort of Townsville.

Some Queensland towns and settlements are known as aboriginal communities.Palm Island andCherbourg are two of the more well-known examples.

Rail networks extend along the eastern coast from the Gold Coast toKuranda. Major branch lines extend inland toLongreach andCharleville and Mount Isa. ThePacific Highway links Brisbane and Sydney along the coast while theNew England links the cities inland. TheNewell Highway connectsGoondiwindi to the southern states via central New South Wales. TheBruce Highway, which travels along the coast from Brisbane to Townsville, has sections nearGympie which were described in a 2006 report as some of the worstnational highway in Australia.^[30]

Queensland contains significant areas of rainforest and other areas of biological diversity.World Heritage Areas include theGreat Barrier Reef,Wet Tropics of Queensland andGondwana Rainforests of Australia. Queensland has 226national parks. The largest isSimpson Desert National Park in the remote central west of the state.^[31] The most visited national parks in South East Queensland areTamborine National Park,Lamington National Park andNoosa National Park.^{[citation needed]} These parks are located near centres of major population and are the most accessible in the state. Lamington and other parks around theScenic Rim such asMain Range National Park, are included in the World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.

Further afield is theCarnarvon National Park in Central Queensland containing ruggedgorge country and some of Australia's finest Aboriginalrock art. In the north of the state areBoodjamulla National Park includingRiversleigh,Barron Gorge National Park andDaintree National Park where the Wet Tropics of Queensland meets the Great Barrier Reef. Some waterways are protected in three state marine parks. These are theGreat Barrier Reef Marine Park,Great Sandy Marine Park andMoreton Bay Marine Park.^[32]

• South East Queensland Regional Plan
• States and territories of Australia

• Geography of Queensland
• Geography of Australia by state or territory

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