Victoria is the smallest mainland state by size, however it holds the distinction of being the second most populous state in Australia. The capital of the state is Melbourne, also the largest city in the state. Victoria is a densely populated state, with 75% of people belonging to the state, living in Melbourne.
Victoria lies in between New South Wales to the north and Tasmania to the south. The state of South Australia lies to the west of Victoria. The southern end of the Great Dividing Range passes through the east coast of Victoria. There are many river systems in the state, which includes the Murray River, Elgin River, Yarra River, King River and Snowy River. There are many areas which are geographically diverse in the small state. The resultant climates range from semi – arid and hot climate in the northwest, temperate climate in the south– east to cold weather in the mountainous parts of the east.
Due to its proximity to the Southern ocean, Victoria experiences moderate weather, as the sea helps reduce the heat during summer months and the cold during winter months. The coldest region in Victoria is the Victorian Alps, located in the northeast of the state. The Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range and run through the centre of Victoria in an east-west direction. Snowfall occurs during winter months in this region. Average temperature is 9 degrees in this mountainous area. The state records the most amount of rainfall after Tasmania in Australia.
The state of Victoria has the second largest economy in Australia, after New South Wales, contributing to a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product. The economy is largely dominated by insurance, finance, and property services sectors. However, the community, social and personal services sectors provide employment opportunities to majority of the population.
Agricultural crops occupy more than 60% of the total land surface in the state of Victoria. Farmers engage in raising large-scale livestock and grain productions, apart from setting up small horticultural outfits. A quarter of farmland is used to grow consumable crops. The state is the center for dairy farming in the country.
Equipment and machine manufacturing is widespread and generates sufficient revenue for Victoria. The state provides employment to over 318,000 people in the manufacturing industry. Melbourne and Geelong are the manufacturing hubs in the state. Many renowned are manufacturers like Toyota, Ford and Holden have set up industrial plants in the state. Apart from these, aluminium smelters have been established by Alcoa's Portland and Point Henry. Laverton in New South Wales boasts of a major petrochemical facility and Geelong and Altona contain many oil refineries.
In Victoria, the mining industry employs only 1% of the workforce. However, it generates about A$3 billion to the gross state product in Victoria. Energy producing minerals like petroleum, brown coal and gas together contribute 90% of production in the mining industry. The State’s east, off the coast of Gippsland contain major oil and gas industries. The Latrobe Valley is the centre of power generation and brown coal mining.