Brisbane Geography

Brisbane is located in the south eastern corner of Queensland. Brisbane lies halfway up the east coast of Australia at coordinates 27.5oS, 153oE. The Central Business District is approximately 23 kilometres upstream from the mouth of Moreton Bay on the Brisbane River.

The CBD lies in a curve of the Brisbane River and is positioned in the same location as the original settlement of the city, with a number of bridges linking the two sides of the city.

The greater metropolitan region of Brisbane extends in all directions along the flood plain of the Brisbane River valley between Moreton Bay in the east and Ipswich to the south west.  It stretches from Beenleigh in the south and up to Caboolture in the north.

As you’ll know by walking around Brisbane, the city is very hilly. This is due to the city lying on the partially elevated spurs of the Herbert Taylor Range. One of the highest points in Brisbane is Mount Coot-tha which reaches up to 300 metres above sea level. It's a great spot to view the entire city. You can also get a great idea of the Brisbane region from Google's aerial photography of Brisbane.

The city is also on a low lying flood plain with many suburban creeks throughout the city. These factors greatly increase the risk of flooding. Since colonisation Brisbane has experienced three devastating floods – February 1893, January 1974 and more recently January 2011.