Explore Cow Bay, Queensland, Australia, with this interactive street and satellite map. You can “grab” the Cow Bay, 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 Cow Bay, 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 Cow Bay 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 Cow Bay.
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 | Cow Bay |
| State | Queensland (QLD) |
| Local Government Area | Douglas Shire |
| Country | Australia |
| Timezone | Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) - no daylight saving |
| Remoteness | Remote Australia |
| Latitude | -16.22084 |
| Longitude | 145.43347 |
| Population | 214 |
| Density | 7.3 /km² |
| Area | 29.3 km² |
| Elevation | 15 m |
| Postcode | 4873 |
| Area Code | 07 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1475 km north-northwest |
Cow Bay is a locality in the Douglas Shire local government area of Queensland, Australia. It is a small community with a population of 214. The locality covers an area of 29.3 km², giving a population density of about 7.3 people per km². It sits at an elevation of around 15 m above sea level. It lies approximately 1475 km north-northwest of Brisbane. Cow Bay is located at 16.2208°S, 145.4335°E. It observes Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) - no daylight saving. Postcode: 4873. The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies the area as Remote Australia.
Cow Bay is a place where the emerald tangle of the Daintree Rainforest spills down to kiss the sapphire embrace of the Coral Sea. It lies 368.2 km north-north-west of Townsville City, QLD (from Townsville City, QLD: bearing 336°T), and is situated 27.0 km north-north-east of Mossman. The air here hangs thick and sweet with the scent of damp earth and unseen blossoms, a humid cloak that softens the sharp edges of the world. Jagged granite outcrops, smoothed by millennia of wind and rain, punctuate the coastline, their dark forms a stark contrast to the vibrant green that clothes every available surface. The narrow, winding track that leads to Cow Bay seems to deliberately obscure the destination, as if guarding a secret whispered only to those who venture deep enough into this verdant embrace. The very light seems to filter differently, catching the dust motes dancing in the humid air and casting a diffused glow that lends a dreamlike quality to the dense foliage.
The story of Cow Bay is a quiet one, woven from the threads of pioneering spirit and the enduring allure of the tropics. For generations, this secluded stretch of coast has been a haven for those seeking a life closer to the wild heart of Queensland. While the broader region’s economy has ebbed and flowed with the fortunes of sugar cane and tourism further south, Cow Bay has retained a character defined by its relative isolation. Its economy, such as it is, relies on a small but hardy community of residents, many drawn to the profound natural beauty and the opportunity for self-sufficiency. The few who call Cow Bay home find their livelihood in the bounty of the sea, in small-scale farming, or in catering to the occasional intrepid traveller drawn by the promise of unspoiled nature, a promise that Cow Bay delivers with an almost overwhelming generosity.
Sources: curated tourist landmarks, CAPAD 2024 (Australian protected areas), OpenStreetMap.
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This page provides a street and satellite map of Cow Bay, 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 Cow Bay, in the Douglas Shire local government area.
Detailed location data for Cow Bay includes the postcode (4873), telephone area code (07), and local government area (Douglas Shire), 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 Cow Bay 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. |