Australian Alps

The Australian Alps is the highest mountain range of Australia. This range is located in southeastern Australia, and it straddles southeastern New South Wales, eastern Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The Australian Alps contain Australia's only peaks exceeding 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) in elevation above sea level, and this is the only region on the mainland on which deep snow falls annually. (Note: Significant snow also falls on the highlands of central Tasmania, which is farther south and hence colder in the wintertime.)

The Australian Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range, the series of mountains, hills, and highlands that runs about 3,000 kilometres from northern Queensland, through New South Wales, and into the northern part of the State of Victoria. This chain of highlands divides the drainage of the rivers that flow to the east into the Pacific Ocean from those that flow west into the drainage of the Murray River (and thence to the Southern Ocean) or into inland waters, such as Lake Eyre, which lie below sea level, or else evaporate rapidly. The Great Dividing Range reaches its greatest heights in the Australian Alps.

The Snowy Mountains in New South Wales are a part of the Australian Alps. The southwestern half of the Australian Alps is also referred to as the Victorian Alps. In and around the Australian Capital Territory, the mountains and foothills are known as the Brindabella Ranges.