What is Tasmania's geography?

Tasmania's geography is shaped by its status as Australia's only island state, separated from mainland Victoria by Bass Strait. The state covers about 68,400 square kilometres, the smallest of any state by area, and its main island measures roughly 364 kilometres north to south and 306 kilometres east to west. About 334 smaller islands surround the main island, with King Island and Flinders Island in Bass Strait the most populated.

The terrain is dominated by mountains. The Central Highlands form a high dolerite plateau in the centre of the island, with peaks rising above 1,500 metres at Mount Ossa (1,617 metres, the highest point) and Cradle Mountain (1,545 metres). To the west the rugged Tarkine wilderness rises sharply from the coast and contains the largest temperate rainforest in the southern hemisphere. The east coast is gentler, with fertile river valleys, the Bay of Fires, and Freycinet Peninsula.

Tasmania has a cool temperate climate moderated by the surrounding seas. The west coast receives more than 2,500 millimetres of rain a year, one of the wettest stretches of Australia, while the east coast and the Tamar Valley around Launceston are much drier. Snow falls regularly on the highlands in winter and occasionally at sea level. The summer is mild, with Hobart averaging 22 degrees Celsius in January.

About 42 per cent of Tasmania is in protected areas including national parks, the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, and forest reserves. The state runs almost entirely on renewable electricity, mostly from the Hydro Tasmania scheme of dams in the highlands and increasingly from wind farms on Bass Strait. Tasmania connects to the National Electricity Market through the Basslink HVDC cable to Victoria, with the Marinus Link cable now under construction to expand that capacity.