The Maranoa is the name given to an area of southern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, about 500 kilometres (kms) west of Brisbane. Some refer to the Maranoa as the Western Downs. The Maranoa is an eastern part of the larger, mostly arid South West region of Queensland. To the east is the agricultural region of the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

and in the west is the dry

Channel Country The Channel Country is a region of outback Australia mostly in the state of Queensland but also in parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous Braided river, intertwined rivulets that cro ...

. The

Balonne River The Balonne River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin system, is a short yet significant part of the inland river group of South West Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river is a continuation of the Condamine River. After flowing th ...

and

Maranoa River The Maranoa River, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is a river situated in South West Queensland, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the west and east branches of the river, the Maranoa River rises on the Consuelo Table ...

are the two main catchments in the Maranoa. The

Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...

Carnarvon Highway Carnarvon Highway is a state highway in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, linking the township of Rolleston in Queensland's Central Highlands Region, via the town of St George, eventually to Moree in northern New South Wales. It is ...

and

Balonne Highway The Balonne Highway, a state highway of Queensland, is the continuation westward of State Route 49 (Moonie Highway) from the town of St George to its termination at Cunnamulla. There are no large settlements between St George and Cunnamulla. U ...

are the major road routes across the region. The main towns are

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, Condamine,

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

and

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , the locality of Goondiwindi had a population of 6, ...

. Agriculture is the dominant industry of the Maranoa. The traditional agriculture is sheep and cattle grazing suitable for the rangeland landscape and sub-tropical climate of the region. A rural, country lifestyle predominates based around

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. The region is the location of Australia's first oil and natural gas discoveries. The expansion of

coal seam gas ''Coalbed methane'' (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, or coal seam gas (CSG) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Australia, and other co ...

mining has seen rapid infrastructure development and population growth in the region.

References

{{coord, 26, 42, 15, S, 145, 52, 03, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title South West Queensland Regions of Queensland

See also

References