The island is situated about 300 km south of the Australian mainland. With a size of about 68,000 sqkm it is Australia's smallest state and comparable with Ireland or Bavaria, though with about 480,000 people living there it is far less populated.
Until about 11,000 years ago Tasmania was part of the Australian mainland. Most of the island is mountainous, geologically it is part of the Great Dividing Range. The highest mountain is Mt. Ossa (1,617 m).
