Click on
the map to see the different climatic zones of Australia, or choose a link
to your left.
It is a little known
fact that the highest point on Australian Territory is actually Mawson's Peak.
Located on Heard Island, Mawson's Peak is 2745 metres high, and forms the
summit of an active volcano called Big Ben. Heard Island is well south of
the Australian continent (73°30' East, 53°05' South), approaching the coast
of Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. Although there are higher elevations
and mountains in the Australian Antarctic Territory, this land is not sovereign
to Australia.
The highest mountains on the Australian mainland are in an area known as the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, forming part of the Great Dividing Range which separates the central lowlands from the eastern highlands. The Great Dividing Range spans Victoria to the south and runs through New South Wales and Queensland. These are the mountains to the right of the map.
The small long and narrow Mountain range in South Australia is called the Flinders Ranges which are visible at the bottom middle of the map.
The north of Western Australia contains some isolated ranges such as the King Leopold and Hamersley ranges.
Central Australia is relatively flat except for several eroded mountain chains, such as the Macdonnell Ranges in the southern part of the Northern Territory and the Musgrave Ranges and Stuart Range in the northern part of South Australia.
The Island state of Tasmania contains rugged mountains and is geologically part of the Great Dividing Range in the mainland.
Map is © 2001 Commonwealth of Australia
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