Emerald is a small town in (Central Highlands Region), Queensland's central plateau, about 870km from Brisbane, Queensland's capital.
Emerald is located on the (Nogoa River) side of the Nova River, where Scorpio Highway (Capricorn Hwy) and Gregory Highway (Gregory Hwy) meet. The local economy is dominated by farming, cotton and citrus cultivation.
Located about 60 km west of Emerald, Jim Fields (The Gemfields) is the largest sapphire producing region in the world. In the southeast, Lake Maraben (Lake Maraboon), one of Australia's largest artificial lakes, covers an area of about 150 square kilometers. The lake was formed by (Fairbairn Dam), the Fairbairn dam in the south of the city, which cut off the Nova River. After the Fairbairn dam was built, one of the biggest floods in history in 2008 led to the forced evacuation of Emerald2500 people.
