In the north, where urban development has taken place, it is a lowland of undulating hills including the floodplains of the Murrumbidgee and Molonglo Rivers, mostly below 600m. Beyond this are forested mountain slopes rising to 1200m divided by numerous tributaries of the Murrumbidgee. In the south and extreme west is an upland of steep ridges and mountain peaks rising above 1800m. Climate The lowland, including the city of Canberra, has an average annual rainfall of 630mm, unevenly distributed throughout the year. In most years there are light snowfalls in winter.
Strong winds are frequent, mainly from the west and north-west.
On the mountain slopes the rainfall is higher but very uneven, due to variations of aspect. The mountain ridges have an even higher rainfall which may reach 1500mm annually. During much of the winter the ground temperature is near or below freezing point. Snow falls frequently and may persist for some months. In the lowlands, extensive natural grass country has been covered by urban development, crops and introduced pasture grasses.