Mount Isa, city in Queensland, Australia. Mount Isa lies in a remote inland desert region on the junction of the Flinders and Landsborough highways and on the often dry Leichhardt River. It claims to be the largest city in the world by area, covering 40,977 sq km (15,817 sq mi). The city is surrounded by the most productive silver, lead, zinc, and copper mines in Australia (and most of the world)—Mount Isa Mines Ltd. (founded 1924) is the main operator and one of the world's largest single producers of silver, lead, and zinc. A railway carries ore and passengers to Townsville about 800 km (500 mi) to the east and there is also an airport. The area also supports some cattle runs. The reserves were first discovered in 1923 by the prospector John Campbell Miles, with further extensive deposits being found in the 1970s. Mount Isa contains a museum of mining life, historical canvas tent houses formerly used by miners, a Flying Doctor base, and is the seat of a School of the Air, broadcasting lessons by radio to children across the outback. The Riversleigh Fossil Site about 200 km (125 mi) to the north is one of the world's most important fossil fields, containing the remains of prehistoric mammals from the Tertiary period. Population (1991) 23,667.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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