Eastern Australia
The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, while not states, are also included. On some occasions, the southern state of South Australia is also included in this grouping due to its economic ties with the eastern states. Regardless of which definition is used, the eastern states include the great majority of the Australian population. They contain the federal capital Canberra and Australia's three largest cities Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as the three largest non-capital cities in the country: Gold Coast, Queensland; Newcastle, New South Wales; and Wollongong, New South Wales. In terms of climate, the area is dominated by a humid subtropical zone, with some tropical and oceanic climate zones.