Monaro, New South Wales

{{Unreferenced|date=October 2007}} {{Other uses|Monaro (disambiguation)}} [[File:Monaro Australia.jpg|thumb|Monaro|200px|right|Monaro region: between Adaminaby and Cooma]] '''Monaro''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|m|ə|ˈ|n|ɛər|oʊ}} {{respell|mon|AIR|ro}}) is the name of a region in the south of [[New South Wales, Australia]]. A small area of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] near [[Snowy River National Park]] is geographically part of the Monaro, whilst the [[Australian Capital Territory]] is frequently considered part of the region: most towns have very close links with [[Canberra]]. The Monaro region is a plateau area lying about 1000 metres above sea level, extending from the valley of the [[Murrumbidgee River]] in the north to the [[Errinundra Plateau]] in the south, and dropping rather sharply to the coast on its eastern side. Much of the region is an ancient highland, but there is [[basaltic]] bedrock near [[Cooma]] and [[Nimmitabel]] that produce the only true [[chernozem]]s in the whole continent, which are some of the best soils in Australia. Elsewhere the granitic soils are heavily leached and very infertile, supporting a dry forest vegetation before clearing for pastures. Because it is located east of the [[Snowy Mountains]], the rain-bearing westerly winds deposit rain and snow on the mountains leaving the Monaro region in a [[rain shadow]]. Annual rainfall ranges from 430 millimetres (17 inches) around [[Dalgety, New South Wales|Dalgety]] to 700 millimetres (26 inches) at the eastern edge of the plateau, where occasional cyclonic storms can produce extremely heavy rainfall - in one day in June 1975 Nimmitabel received 256 millimetres (over 10 inches) of rain. Temperatures in summer are warm to very warm, with average maxima ranging from 28 °C (82 °F) around [[Canberra]] and [[Queanbeyan]] to 22 °C (71 °F) on the highest parts of the plateau. Nights in summer can be cool, but in winter the region is the coldest part of mainland Australia outside the [[Australian Alps|Alps]], with July minima averaging -0.3 °C (31.5 °F) in Canberra and -1.5 °C (29.3 °F) in [[Bombala]]. The Monaro region is characterised by rolling hills that rise to extremely rugged peaks in the [[Tinderry Mountains]] and to shallow valleys in the upper [[Murrumbidgee River|Murrumbidgee]]. The basaltic '''Monaro Range''' separates the [[Snowy River|Snowy]] and Murrumbidgee drainages. Because the climate in the basaltic areas is too cold for really reliable cropping (Nimmitabel has had [[frost]]s in January), the main industry is raising [[sheep]] and beef [[cattle]]. The [[Monaro Highway]] is the main State highway from [[Canberra]] to the Monaro region. The main towns in the region are [[Cooma, New South Wales|Cooma]] and [[Bombala]], whilst others include [[Berridale, New South Wales|Berridale]], [[Adaminaby, New South Wales|Adaminaby]], [[Delegate, New South Wales|Delegate]], [[Dalgety, New South Wales|Dalgety]], [[Nimmitabel, New South Wales|Nimmitabel]] and [[Jindabyne, New South Wales|Jindabyne]]. {{coord missing|New South Wales}}