Geography of Queensland

The geography of Queensland 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 in Australia. 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. A unique geographical feature of the state is the Great Barrier Reef, an important tourist drawcard. The Tropic of Capricorn crosses the state with about half of Queensland's area located to the north of the line.

The far western boundary with the Northern Territory is aligned along the 138th meridian east until Poeppel Corner at the intersection of this meridian and the 26th parallel south. It is here that Queensland borders South Australia. The boundary follows this latitude until it reaches the 141st meridian east Haddon Corner where the border turns south reaching Cameron Corner on the 29th parallel south, the most western part of the border with New South Wales. The border follows this latitude towards the coast at about the 154th meridian east before following the courses of a number of rivers, then across a number of mountain ranges until it reaches Point Danger. These rivers are the Macintyre River, Severn River and Weir Rivers, all tributaries of the Barwon River itself a tributary of the Darling River. Southern border towns include Mungindi, Goondiwindi and Texas.

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

Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world lies off the coast of Queensland. There are half of the world's perched or dune lakes on Fraser Island. 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 the Whitsunday Islands are known for their tourist resorts. Mornington Island and Great Palm Island sustain large aboriginal communities. In the Torres Strait Thursday Island is the administrative and commercial centre of the Torres Strait Islands. Hinchinbrook Island, a large, mountainous island offshore from Cardwell, is completely preserved within the national park. North West Island is a coral cay that sustains important nesting grounds for sea birds and turtles.

The islands of Bribie, Moreton, North Stradbroke and South Stradbroke are located in the south east corner of the state. North Stradbroke Island is the second largest sand island in the world. As Bribie Island is connected by a bridge over the Pumicestone Passage it is the most developed island in the region.

To the north west of Queensland is the Gulf of Carpentaria. North of Cape York Peninsula is Torres Strait with many Torres Strait Islands, the most northerly of which is Boigu Island at the 10th parallel south. To the east of Queensland lies the Coral Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean. Major bays along the coast include Princess Charlotte Bay, Shoalwater Bay north of Yeppoon, Hervey Bay between Fraser Island and the mainland, Trinity Bay off Cairns and Moreton Bay off Brisbane. The Great Sandy Strait is a passage extending south of Hervey Bay, between the mainland and Fraser Island. Beaches on the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are long and sandy, attracting tourists including surfers. Further north the waves are dampened by the barrier reefs.

Queensland's largest dam is the Burdekin Dam, followed by Lake 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.