Explore Cairns, Queensland, Australia, with this interactive street and satellite map. You can “grab” the Cairns, QLD 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 Cairns, Queensland, 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 Queensland or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Cairns 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 Cairns.
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 | Cairns |
| State | Queensland (QLD) |
| Country | Australia |
| Timezone | Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) - no daylight saving |
| Latitude | -16.92366 |
| Longitude | 145.76613 |
| Population | 153,075 |
| Elevation | 7 m |
| Area Code | 07 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1390 km north-west |
Cairns is a locality in Queensland, Australia. With a population of 153,075, Cairns is a major urban centre in Queensland. It sits at an elevation of around 7 m above sea level. It lies approximately 1390 km north-west of Brisbane. Cairns is located at 16.9237°S, 145.7661°E. It observes Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) - no daylight saving.
Cairns emerges as a humid, emerald threshold where the heavy, salt-thickened air of the Coral Sea presses against the steep, verdant ramparts of the Great Dividing Range. It lies 282.4 km north-north-west of Townsville City, QLD (from Townsville City, QLD: bearing 337°T), and is situated 10.5 km north-north-east of Edmonton. The horizon here is dominated by a dramatic collision of geology and ocean, where the dark, forested slopes of the Lamb Range drop sharply toward a coastline fringed with tidal mangroves and mudflats. As the sun retreats behind the mountains, the light takes on a bruised, violet intensity, casting long shadows across the Esplanade and turning the surface of Trinity Inlet into a sheet of hammered copper. Cairns maintains a character defined by this proximity to the wild, where the damp heat of the tropics dictates the pace of existence, and the sudden, torrential downpours of the wet season wash the streets clean, leaving the scent of crushed ginger and wet earth clinging to the evening.
European settlement in Cairns arrived in the late nineteenth century as a gateway for the arduous task of exporting gold and tin from the rugged hinterlands, transforming a swampy shoreline into a vital maritime artery. Today, the economy of Cairns pivots on the immense gravity of the Great Barrier Reef and the surrounding rainforests, drawing travellers from across the globe to witness a marine ecosystem of unparalleled complexity. Beyond the tourism sector, the surrounding plains support a robust agricultural industry, where vast fields of sugarcane create a vibrant, lime-coloured quilt against the darker greens of the mountain foothills. The harbour remains a functional, industrious space, filled with the low hum of trawlers and the rhythmic clatter of machinery, while the local lifestyle is punctuated by the seasonal harvest and the persistent, industrious flow of trade through the port.
Cultural life in Cairns is a vibrant, humid collage of outdoor pursuits and a deep-seated appreciation for the natural wonders that define the region. While professional sporting codes like the NRL and AFL maintain a fervent following in the pubs and clubs, the identity of Cairns is more tangibly linked to the water, with the nearby beaches of the Northern Beaches providing a sand-swept sanctuary for swimmers and surfers alike. Residents often gather for major events like the Cairns Festival, which celebrates the tropical lifestyle, while institutions such as James Cook University provide an intellectual anchor for the region, fostering research into the unique biodiversity of the wet tropics. Famous figures with roots in the region, such as the actor Brenton Thwaites or the musician Courtney Act, reflect a local culture that is both cosmopolitan and fiercely proud of its northern isolation. Whether observing the early morning bustle of the lagoon or the quiet reflection of the botanic gardens, Cairns remains a place where the boundary between human endeavour and the ancient, encroaching rainforest feels perpetually porous.
Sources: curated tourist landmarks, CAPAD 2024 (Australian protected areas), OpenStreetMap.
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This page provides a street and satellite map of Cairns, Queensland. 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 Cairns.
Detailed location data for Cairns includes the postcode, telephone area code (07). 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 Cairns 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. |