Welcome to Tasmania

Tasmania is an island and the tiniest state in Australia. The island lies 240km south of the most south-eastern part of the mainland of Australia and is separated from it by Bass Strait – a shallow sea. Tasmania is surrounded by other islands, smaller in size, the most widely-known of which are King, Flinders and Bruny. Combined with these islands, the state has a total territory of 68 331 sq km.
The landscape of Tasmania is very different from the one of the mainland. There are no desert areas on the island. The landscape varies from rugged mountains with lakes and waterfalls to hills, sandy beaches and unspoilt national parks and world heritage areas. The island is the most mountainous state of Australia. Its mountains are not pretty high (1500m), but the area they occupy is very wide. In the centre of the island there is a plateau (1000m high) which slopes south-east. Parallel to the west coast runs a range of mountains with rivers, rapids and ravines. There are also many mining areas still remaining. The Midlands – on the north-eastern corner – are the agricultural richness of Tasmania.
In the state there are also left-overs from the convict days. One of the main attractions of the island is Port Arthur – a penal establishment, built in 1830 where convicts and bushrangers were held. The island has kept much of its original architecture combined with modern buildings. The capital of the state is Hobart – situated near the mouth of Derwent River and was built in 1803. The population of Tasmania is over 470 000 people and is nearly evenly divided between the south and north part of the state. Many of these people live in the capital city – 195 000.