Mount Isa, city in northeastern Australia, in the western region of the state of Queensland. Mount Isa lies in a remote desert region on the often dry Leichhardt River. The city's mines have consistently produced the most silver, lead, zinc, and copper of any mines in Australia (and most of the world), and Mount Isa Mines, Ltd., the city's largest company, is among the world's largest single producers of silver, lead, and zinc. The area also supports some cattle runs. Covering more than 40,000 sq km (more than 25,000 sq mi), Mount Isa claims to be the largest city in the world in terms of area. It sits at the junction of the east-west Barkly Highway and the Diamantina Development Road. A railway carries ore and passengers to Townsville on the Coral Sea, and an airport also serves the city.
Mount Isa is a base for the Flying Doctor Service, which provides medical service for people in remote areas, and the seat of a School of the Air, which broadcasts lessons by radio to children across the Australian outback. The city also has museums of mining life and Aboriginal heritage as well as historical canvas tent houses once used by miners. John Miles discovered Mount Isa's reserves in 1923, and the settlement was founded soon after. Further extensive deposits were found in the 1970s. Population (1996) 21,751.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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