Editing Mount Isa (section)

{{Short description|City in Queensland, Australia}}
{{This|the city|the former Queensland electoral district|Electoral district of Mount Isa|the local government area|City of Mount Isa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2014}}
{{GeoGroup}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                = city
| name                = Mount Isa
| state               = qld
| image               = {{photomontage
| photo1a = Mount Isa Lookout Panorama.JPG{{!}}Mount Isa panorama
| photo2a = Mount Isa, Queensland - Lake Moondarra.jpg{{!}}Lake Moondarra
| photo2b = Mount Isa, Queensland - The Sign.jpg{{!}}Mount Isa sign 
| photo3a = Mt Isa Mine Stack - panoramio (1).jpg{{!}}Mount Isa Mine Stack
| photo3b = Looking south along West Street from the intersection with Rodeo Drive, Mount Isa City, 2019.jpg{{!}}Mount Isa city centre
| photo4a = Mount Isa, Queensland - Night.jpg{{!}}Mount Isa at night
| spacing = 2 | border = 0 |color = #F2F2F2 | size = 270}}
| caption = Top to bottom, left to right: Mount Isa panorama; [[Lake Moondarra]]; ''The Sign'', Mount Isa Mines stack, Mount Isa City; Mount Isa at night
| coordinates         = {{coord|-20.7261|139.4938|type:city_region:AU-QLD|display=inline,title|name=Mount Isa (town centre)}}
| pop                 = 18,317
| pop_year            = {{CensusAU|2021}}
| pop_footnotes       = <ref name=Census2021/>
| established         = 1923
| postcode            = 4825
| area                = 68.7
| timezone            = [[AEST]]
| utc                 = +10:00
| dist1               = 904 <!-- road distances as per template instructions -->
| dir1                = W
| location1           = [[Townsville]]
| dist2               = 1826
| dir2                = NW
| location2           = [[Brisbane]]
| dist3               = 
| dir3                = 
| location3           = 
| dist4               = 
| dir4                = 
| location4           =
| elevation           = 356
| maxtemp             = 31.9
| mintemp             = 17.3
| rainfall            = 461.8
| lga                 = [[City of Mount Isa]]
| stategov            = [[Electoral district of Traeger|Traeger]]
| fedgov              = [[Division of Kennedy|Kennedy]]
}}
'''Mount Isa''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|z|ə}} {{respell|EYE|zə}}) is a city in the [[Gulf Country]] region of [[Queensland]], [[Australia]].<ref>{{cite QPN|23053|Mount Isa|population centre in City of Mount Isa|access-date=8 April 2020}}</ref> It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. [[Mount Isa Mines]] (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on combined production of [[lead]], [[silver]], [[copper]] and [[zinc]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australianexplorer.com/mt_isa.htm|title=Mt Isa|website=www.australianexplorer.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712231834/https://www.australianexplorer.com/mt_isa.htm|archive-date=12 July 2017|df=dmy-all|access-date=19 August 2008}}</ref> 

Before European contact, the Mount Isa region was part of an expansive trade network spanning the entire [[Lake Eyre basin|Lake Eyre Basin]] and beyond. In particular, it was a valued source of stone for stone tools such as [[Hand axe|hand axes]].<ref name=":02">Davidson, Iain; Cook, Nick; Fischer, Matthew; Ridges, Malcolm; Ross, June; Sutton, Stephen (2005). "Archaeology in Another Country: Exchange and Symbols in North-West Central Queensland" (PDF). In Macfarlane, Ingereth; Mountain, Mary-Jane; Paton, Robert (eds.). Many Exchanges: Archaeology, History, Community and the Work of Isabel McBryde. Canberra: Aboriginal History Inc. pp. 101–128. {{ISBN|0-9585637-7-2}}</ref>

In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, the town of Mount Isa had a population of 18,317 people,<ref name=Census2021/> making Mount Isa the administrative, commercial and industrial centre for the state's vast north-western region.  Although situated in an arid area, the artificial [[Lake Moondarra]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mountisawater.qld.gov.au/|title=Mount Isa Water Board - Trustee of Lake Moondarra, Mount Isa|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141004212145/http://www.mountisawater.qld.gov.au/|archive-date=4 October 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> {{convert|19|km|mi}} north of the city on the [[Leichhardt River]] provides both drinking water and an area for watersports, birdwatching and recreation. Locals often refer to Mount Isa as "The Isa".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mountisa.qld.gov.au/en_US/about-isa|title=Official Mt. Isa page, using "The Isa" term|access-date=20 November 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816214038/http://www.mountisa.qld.gov.au/en_US/about-isa|archive-date=16 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>