Map of Tasmania
Tasmania is a first-level division of Australia. Its largest mapped city is Hobart, with about 80,870 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Tasmania, and the tables list its 10 mapped cities along with the mountains, lakes, ports, World Heritage Sites nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 10
- Largest City
- Hobart
- Country
- Australia
- Highest Point Mapped
- 1,617 m
Interactive Map of Tasmania
About Tasmania
Tasmania (/tæzˈmeɪniə/; palawa kani: Lutruwita) is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 kilometres (150 miles) to the south of the Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and the surrounding 1000 islands. It is Australia's smallest and least populous state, with 573,479 residents as of June 2023. The state capital and largest city is Hobart, with around 40% of the population living in the Greater Hobart area. Tasmania is the most decentralised state in Australia, with the lowest proportion of its residents living within its capital city.
Tasmania's main island was first inhabited by Aboriginal peoples, who today generally identify as Palawa or Pakana.
It is believed that Aboriginal Tasmanians became isolated from mainland Aboriginal groups around 11,700 years ago, when rising sea levels formed Bass Strait.
In 1803, Tasmania was permanently settled by Europeans as a penal settlement of the British Empire, partly to pre-empt French territorial claims during the Napoleonic Wars. At the time of British arrival, the Aboriginal population is estimated to have been between 3,000 and 7,000. Within three decades, however, this number declined drastically due to violent conflict, known as the Black War, and the spread of infectious diseases. The Black War peaked between 1825 and 1831, resulting in the declaration of martial law for more than three years and causing the deaths of nearly 1,100 Aboriginal people and settlers.
Under British rule, the island was initially part of the Colony of New South Wales; however, it became a separate colony under the name Van Diemen's Land (named after Anthony van Diemen) in 1825. Approximately 80,000 convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land before this practice, known as transportation, ceased in 1853.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Tasmania (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Tasmania in Depth
History
The island was adjoined to the mainland of Australia until the end of the last glacial period about 11,700 years ago. Much of the island is composed of Jurassic dolerite intrusions (the upwelling of magma) through other rock types, sometimes forming large columnar joints. Tasmania has the world's largest areas of dolerite, with many distinctive mountains and cliffs formed from this rock type. The central plateau and the southeast portions of the island are mostly dolerites. Mount Wellington above Hobart is a good example, showing distinct columns known as the Organ Pipes.
In the southern midlands as far south as Hobart, the dolerite is underlaid by sandstone and similar sedimentary stones.
Geography
Tasmania, the largest island of Australia, has a landmass of 68,401 km2 (26,410 sq mi) and is located directly in the pathway of the notorious "Roaring Forties" wind that encircles the globe. To its north, it is separated from mainland Australia by Bass Strait. Tasmania is the only Australian state that is not located on the Australian mainland. About 2,500 kilometres (1,300 nautical miles) south of Tasmania island lies the George V Coast of Antarctica. Depending on which borders of the oceans are used, the island can be said to be either surrounded by the Southern Ocean, or to have the Pacific on its east and the Indian to its west. Still other definitions of the ocean boundaries would have Tasmania with the Great Australian Bight to the west, and the Tasman Sea to the east.
Economy
Traditionally, Tasmania's main industries have been mining (including copper, zinc, tin, and iron), agriculture, forestry, and tourism. Tasmania is on Australia's electrical grid and in the 1940s and 1950s, a hydro-industrialisation initiative was embodied in the state by Hydro Tasmania. These all have had varying fortunes over the last century and more, involved in ebbs and flows of population moving in and away dependent upon the specific requirements of the dominant industries of the time. The state also has a large number of food exporting sectors, including but not limited to seafood (such as salmon, abalone and crayfish).
In the 1960s and 1970s there was a decline in traditional crops such as apples and pears, with other crops and industries eventually rising in their place.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Tasmania (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Tasmania: Key Facts
| Population | 539,590 (2020) |
|---|---|
| Area | 68,401 km² |
| Capital | Hobart |
| Head of government | Jeremy Rockliff |
| Highest point | Mount Ossa |
| Established | 3 December 1825 |
Facts from Wikidata Q34366 (CC0).
History of Tasmania: Empires and States
The atlas records 3 polities whose mapped territory included part of Tasmania, from British Colonial Empire in 1828 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| British Colonial Empire | 1828–1904 CE |
| The British Empire | 1828–1904 CE |
| Commonwealth of Australia | 1905–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Tasmania
Tasmania on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Tasmania
"TAS" redirects here. For other users, see Tas. For the airport, see Tashkent#By plane.
Tasmania (palawa kani: lutruwita) is the island state of Australia, southeast of the mainland. Tasmania encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th largest island in the world, and over 1000 smaller islands, both inhabited and uninhabited. It is the smallest state in Australia by both area and by population, with just over 500,000 permanent residents. Over 45% of Tasmania is protected by national parks and world heritage sites, and it features diverse climates, flora and fauna, many of which are found nowhere else in Australia, and a rich heritage, both Indigenous and post-colonial.
You'll find the inhabitants notably more polite, friendly and helpful than in big cities on the mainland such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Tasmania (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Tasmania
10 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hobart | 80,870 | Tasmania | Admin-1 capital |
| 2 | Launceston | 72,458 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 3 | Burnie | 19,972 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 4 | Devonport | 19,317 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 5 | Kingston | 14,371 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 6 | Smithton | 4,202 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 7 | Scottsdale | 2,468 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 8 | Queenstown | 2,352 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 9 | Oatlands | 1,157 | Tasmania | Populated place |
| 10 | Bicheno | 177 | Tasmania | Populated place |
Highest Mountains in Tasmania
1 mountain mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Ossa | 1,617 m | 5,305 ft | Oceania |
Largest Lakes in Tasmania
2 lakes mapped. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Gordon | 363 km² | Reservoir |
| 2 | Lake Pedder | 308 km² | Reservoir |
Ports in Tasmania
8 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Launceston | 56.7 m | Small | Australia & New Zealand | large vessels |
| 2 | Port Huon | 42.1 m | Very Small | Australia & New Zealand | large vessels |
| 3 | Stanley | 42.1 m | Very Small | Australia & New Zealand | large vessels |
| 4 | Devonport | 42.1 m | Small | Australia & New Zealand | large vessels |
| 5 | Port Dalrymple | 38.4 m | Minor | Australia & New Zealand | large vessels |
| 6 | Dover | 31.1 m | Very Small | Australia & New Zealand | point_of_interest |
| 7 | Port Latta | 27.4 m | Very Small | Australia & New Zealand | medium vessels |
| 8 | Beauty Point | 9.1 m | Small | Australia & New Zealand | medium vessels |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tasmania
1 World Heritage Site mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tasmanian Wilderness | 1982 | Mixed | (iii) (iv) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) |
Tasmania: Quick Answers
- Where is Tasmania?
- Tasmania is a first-level division of Australia, in Oceania. Its mapped cities centre on 41.7794° S, 146.7820° E.
- What is the largest city in Tasmania?
- Hobart is the largest city mapped in Tasmania, with a metropolitan population of about 80,870.
- How many cities are in Tasmania?
- YearMaps maps 10 cities and towns in Tasmania, with a combined metropolitan population of about 217,344. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
- What is the highest mountain in Tasmania?
- The highest summit mapped in Tasmania is Mount Ossa at 1,617 m.
- What is the largest lake in Tasmania?
- The largest lake mapped in or beside Tasmania is Lake Gordon, at about 363 km².