Explore Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia, with this interactive street and satellite map. You can “grab” the Lightning Ridge, NSW map and move it around to re-centre it. You can change between standard map view and satellite map view by clicking the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. You can use the zoom buttons on the lower right side of the map to zoom in or out to street-level detail.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets — plus a labelled MGA grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below. You will find live weather, local and world news further down the page.
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen for a larger view. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key on your keyboard, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
Drag the map to pan to any area of New South Wales or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Lightning Ridge and surrounding areas, including streets, buildings, parks and waterways.
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the Geoscience Australia National Base Map — seamless topographic mapping covering the mainland, Tasmania and the external territories. NATMAP 250K shows the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 map sheets, mosaicked nationwide — the printed sheets generations of Australians navigated the outback with. The search box finds any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Lightning Ridge.
Reading the map like a paper sheet. Click Grid to overlay the Map Grid of Australia (MGA), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as an MGA grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what emergency services and search and rescue work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need mobile coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load, which across much of inland Australia is most of the time.
Map search is available for a limited number of queries per session to manage costs. Be specific — search precisely for best results.
| Locality | Lightning Ridge |
| State | New South Wales (NSW) |
| Local Government Area | Walgett Shire Council |
| Country | Australia |
| Timezone | Australian Eastern Time (AEST/AEDT) |
| Remoteness | Remote Australia |
| Latitude | -29.33156 |
| Longitude | 147.9272 |
| Population | 2,636 |
| Density | 1.2 /km² |
| Area | 2141.3 km² |
| Elevation | 149 m |
| Postcode | 2834 |
| Area Code | 02 |
| Distance to Sydney | 592 km north-northwest |
Lightning Ridge is a locality in the Walgett Shire Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It has a population of approximately 2,636. The locality covers an area of 2141.3 km², giving a population density of about 1.2 people per km². It sits at an elevation of around 149 m above sea level. It lies approximately 592 km north-northwest of Sydney. Lightning Ridge is located at 29.3316°S, 147.9272°E. It observes Australian Eastern Time (AEST/AEDT). Postcode: 2834. The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies the area as Remote Australia.
Lightning Ridge shimmers under a vast, bleached sky, a place where the earth itself seems to hold its breath. It lies 334.5 km north-north-west of Dubbo, NSW (from Dubbo, NSW: bearing 348°T), and is situated 57.9 km west of Collarenebri. The landscape here is a study in ochre and muted greens, a flat expanse punctuated by the curious mounds and scars of human endeavour. Dust, fine as talc, coats everything, catching the light in a perpetual, hazy glow. The air, when it moves, carries the dry, mineral scent of baked earth and the faintest whisper of eucalyptus. In the distance, the horizon is a clean, sharp line, unbroken save for the occasional silhouette of a shearing shed or a water tank.
This is a town born of a singular, fervent pursuit: the opal. For generations, Lightning Ridge has drawn prospectors and dreamers, its economy intricately bound to the elusive shimmer of precious stone. The network of underground shafts, a labyrinth beneath the surface, speaks of a history etched in relentless digging and the quiet hope of striking it rich. While opal mining remains its beating heart, a steady stream of travellers now passes through, drawn by the unique character of this outback settlement and the promise of finding their own piece of the earth's hidden fire.
Sources: curated tourist landmarks, CAPAD 2024 (Australian protected areas), OpenStreetMap.
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This page provides a street and satellite map of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorially written description provides background on Lightning Ridge, in the Walgett Shire Council local government area.
Detailed location data for Lightning Ridge includes the postcode (2834), telephone area code (02), and local government area (Walgett Shire Council), with an ABS remoteness classification of Remote Australia. These are among the most commonly searched location details for any Australian city, town or locality.
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name; offers Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets as base layers; overlays a labelled Map Grid of Australia (MGA) so the map can be read like a printed topographic sheet; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as an MGA grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020) and enriched with GeoNames and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, matched by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Lightning Ridge is identified even where the name is shared across multiple localities.
| Page generated | October 2026 |
| Location data | Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020); enriched with GeoNames and ABS 2021 Census data, matched by coordinate proximity |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; © Geoscience Australia National Base Map and NATMAP 1:250 000 (CC BY 4.0); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Description | Editorial description generated with AI assistance from verified Geoscape, ABS and GeoNames location data. |