Some of Tasmania's geographic extremes are listed below.
- Longest rivers
-
The South Esk River, in the north-east of the state, is the longest at
201 km (126 mi). This is followed by the Gordon River on the west coast (185
km or 116 mi) and the Derwent River in the south-east (182 km or 114 mi).
- Highest mountains
-
Most of Tasmania's tall mountains are in the central highlands. The tallest is
Mt. Ossa at 1617 m (5305 ft). Legges Tor, in the north-east, rises 1575
m (5167 ft). There are four other peaks over 1500 m.
- Deepest lakes
-
Lake St. Clair, in the central highlands, is both Tasmania's and
Australia's deepest lake. In places it is over 200 m (700 ft) deep.
- Largest lakes
-
Lake Gordon and Lake Pedder, at 272 and 241 sq.km respectively
(106 and 94 sq.mi) are the state's largest. Connected by a canal, together
they form Australia's largest freshwater lake.
- Deepest caves
-
Tasmania's caves are the deepest in Australia. The Growling Swallet
System is over 375 m (1230 ft) deep. The Annakananda is close behind at
373 m (1224 ft). Several deep caves are also over 10 km long.
- Driest town
-
Tasmania's driest towns tend to be in the Derwent Valley or southern midlands.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Tunbridge is the driest,
averaging 460 mm (18.1 in) of rainfall per year. Hamilton (493 mm, 19.4 in)
and Ross (511 mm, 20.1 in) follow.
- Wettest town
- The wettest towns are all on the west coast of Tasmania, which partly explains the number of hydro-electric power plants in that area. Strathgordon tops the list with 2524 mm (99.4 in) of rainfall per year. Queenstown (2521 mm, 99.3 in) and Rosebery (2124 mm, 83.6 in) follow.
Also see the question What is the weather like.
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Last reviewed 2006-08-05 17:39:54