Tasmanian Climate and Environment

Tasmania is often referred to as an island paradise and those of us lucky enough to live here think that is pretty close to true. Tassie offers vast natural beauty and nearly forty per cent of the island is protected World Heritage wilderness, national parks and reserves.

Tasmanian Geography

Tasmania is the smallest state of Australia, an island around 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of the state of Victoria. Tasmania is located between latitudes 40 degrees and 44 degrees south, and between longitudes 143 degrees and 149 degrees east.

Tasmania is 315 kilometres (189 miles) west to east and 286 kilometres (175 miles) north to south. It is comparable in size to Scotland (UK), West Virginia (USA) and Hokkaido (Japan). The area of Tasmania is 68,331 square kilometres (26,376 square miles). Total length of Tasmania’s coastline (including islands) is approximately 5,400 kilometres.

Highest Tasmanian mountain – Mt Ossa 1617 metres. Mount Wellington (overlooking Hobart) is 1270 metres (around 4,000 feet).

Longest Tasmanian river – South Esk 201 kilometres

Largest Tasmanian lake – Lake Gordon 272 square kilometres (man-made)

Tasmanian Population

The most recent data available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (as at 30 June 2011), estimates the resident population of Tasmania to be 510,600 people.

The population of the largest cities is around 214,000 in Hobart, 105,000 in Launceston, 20,000 in Burnie and 25,000 in Devonport.

At 30 June 2010, Tasmania had the oldest population of all the states and territories with a median age of 39.9 years. In addition, Tasmania has the lowest sex ratio, with 97.4 males per 100 females.

Tasmanian Climate

Tasmania has a mild temperate climate, with four distinct seasons.

Tasmania has a similar latitude to Spain north of Madrid, Southern France and central parts of Italy and enjoys a temperate maritime climate, with four distinct seasons but not vast extremes of temperature. Summers are mild and winters cool and Hobart has the second lowest rainfall (after Adelaide) of all Australian capital cities with average annual rainfall of 626mm.

Visit our blog which includes some posts about the realities of the Tasmanian weather.

Learn more about Tasmania

To find out more about Tassie, visit our other information pages listed below. Each contain detailed information and links to a vast array of useful  websites.

• The Cities, Towns and Regions of Tasmania
• Attractions and Events
• Arts and Culture
• Food and Wine
• Sport and Recreation
• Property in Tasmania
• Schooling and Childcare
• Travel and Transport

Contact Us for a quote to help you move to Tasmania

If you are considering relocating to Tasmania, or even moving from one part of Tassie to another, then contact us to talk about how we can make it easier for you. Our relocation services  and home search services are designed to help you make the move without all the stress. Our Schools and Childcare Search will help you and your family settle into your new location more quickly.

Photo credit: Cradle Mountain  | Tourism Tasmania | Paul Sinclair