Victoria is the southernmost mainland state of Australia. With an area of , it is Australia's sixth largest state/territory, comparable in size to the island of Great Britain or the U.S. state of Utah. It is bound to the northwest by South Australia, directly north by New South Wales, and also shares a maritime border with Tasmania across the Bass Strait to the south. Most of Victoria's northern border lies along the Murray River. The eastern half of the state is dominated by the Australian Alps and the surrounding highlands (plateaus and hills) of the Great Dividing Range, which also to a lesser extent extend far into the west of the state and ease off after The Grampians. By comparison the north and northwest of the state is extremely flat with little prominence.
Approximately 80% of Victoria's population lives around the coasts of the Port Phillip Bay and (to a lesser extent) Western Port Bay in the south-central region, chiefly in the state's two largest cities, Melbourne (state capital) and Geelong.
Climate
Victoria has a varied climate despite its small size. It ranges from semi-arid temperate with hot summers in the north-west, to temperate and cool along the coast. Victoria's main land feature, the Great Dividing Range, produces a cooler, mountain climate in the centre of the state. Winters along the coast of the state, particularly around Melbourne, are relatively mild (see chart at right).
The coastal plain south of the Great Dividing Range has Victoria's mildest climate. Air from the Southern Ocean helps reduce the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Melbourne and other large cities are located in this temperate region.
The Mallee and upper Wimmera are Victoria's warmest regions with hot winds blowing from nearby semi-deserts. Average temperatures exceed during summer and in winter. Except at cool mountain elevations, the inland monthly temperatures are warmer than around Melbourne (see chart). Victoria's highest maximum temperature of was recorded in Hopetoun on 7 February 2009, during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave.
The Victorian Alps in the northeast are the coldest part of Victoria. The Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range mountain system extending east–west through the centre of Victoria. Average temperatures are less than in winter and below in the highest parts of the ranges. The state's lowest minimum temperature of was recorded at Omeo on 15 June 1965, and again at Falls Creek on 3 July 1970.
Rainfall
Rainfall in Victoria increases from south to the northeast, with higher averages in areas of high altitude. Mean annual rainfall exceeds in some parts of the northeast but is less than in the Mallee.
Rain is heaviest in the Otway Ranges and Gippsland in southern Victoria and in the mountainous northeast. Snow generally falls only in the mountains and hills in the centre of the state. Rain falls most frequently in winter, but summer precipitation is heavier. Rainfall is most reliable in Gippsland and the Western District, making them both leading farming areas. Victoria's highest recorded daily rainfall was at Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory National Park on 23 March 2011.
Weatherboxes
Regional divisions
The geography of Victoria has several different divisions depending on the aspect of the geography in question. Geomorphological divisions are listed in the following sections. From a human geographical perspective, the state is divided up into the following regions:
Central
Port Phillip Bay area
Greater Melbourne
Mornington Peninsula
Dandenong Ranges
Werribee Plain
You Yangs
Greater Geelong
Bellarine Peninsula
Central Highlands
Yarra Ranges
Yarra Valley
East and South-East
Victorian Alps
Gippsland
East Gippsland
Central Gippsland
Gippsland Lakes
Latrobe Valley
West Gippsland
South Gippsland
Strzelecki Ranges
Wilsons Promontory
Western Port Bay area
Phillip Island
French Island
North-East
Victorian Alps
Hume
Ovens and Murray
Goulburn Valley
North-West
Mallee
Loddon-Campaspe
West
Grampians
Central Highlands
Grampians National Park
Wimmera
South-West
Barwon South West
Otway Ranges
Cape Otway
Eastern Uplands (Victorian Alps)