Cooma

Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a population of 6,742. Cooma is the main town of the Monaro region. It is above sea level. The name could have derived from an Aboriginal word Coombah, meaning 'big lake' or 'open country'. Cooma is south of the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, a main tributary of the Murray–Darling basin. Cooma sources its water from the river. History The area now known as Cooma lies on the traditional lands of the Ngarigo people.