La Trobe Valley

Latrobe Valley Victoria
A view of part of the Latrobe Valley, from Tyers lookout, 2013.
Approximate Latrobe Valley area, comprising the Baw Baw Shire and City of Latrobe local government areas.
Latrobe Valley
Coordinates	38°10′50″S 146°16′42″E / 38.18056°S 146.27833°E / -38.18056; 146.27833Coordinates: 38°10′50″S 146°16′42″E / 38.18056°S 146.27833°E / -38.18056; 146.27833
Population	125,000
LGA(s)	Latrobe City Shire of Baw Baw
Region	Gippsland
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 26.4 °C 80 °F 3.6 °C 38 °F 800 mm 31.5 in
Localities around Latrobe Valley: Great Dividing Range Baw Baw Ranges East Gippsland West Gippsland Latrobe Valley East Gippsland Strzelecki Ranges South Gippsland Central Gippsland

The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The district lies east of the Melbourne and nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Baw Baw Ranges, part of the Great Dividing Range, to the north. Mount Baw Baw (1,567 m (5,141 ft)) is the highest peak to the north of the Latrobe Valley, due north of Moe. The highest peak to the south is Mt Tassie (740 m (2,430 ft)), south of Traralgon.

The area has three major centres, from west to east, Moe, Morwell and Traralgon, with minor centres including Churchill, Yinnar, Glengarry, and Tyers. The population of the Latrobe Valley is approximately 125,000.

The valley draws its name from the Latrobe River which flows eastward, through the valley. According to Les Blake, in 1841 William Adams Brodribb, an early settler, named the river in honour of Charles La Trobe, Lieutenant Governor of the Port Phillip District.A. W. Reed also attributes Brodribb to naming the river in honour of La Trobe; yet Reed claims that the river was discovered by Angus McMillan in 1840 who named the watercourse as Glengarry River.

While the Latrobe River flows into Lake Wellington to the east of Sale and includes in its drainage basin a significant part of central Gippsland, the region conventionally known as the Latrobe Valley occupies an inland area between the Strzelecki Ranges and Baw Baw Ranges between Drouin and Rosedale - with three major urban areas Moe, Morwell and Traralgon, between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the westernmost reaches of the Victorian Alps to the north.