New South Wales, named by Cook in 1770 because it reminded him of south Wales, is Australia's fourth-largest state but has the largest population - almost 6.5 million. Geographically, it forms a series of parallel strips: a narrow coastal plain which supports the bulk of the population, the uplands of the Great Dividing Range, slopes and plains which form the state's agricultural heartland and, finally, the Outback. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to the winter snows of the mountains in the far south. Although within the boundaries of New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory is governed and administered separately. The territory and the national capital, Canberra, were created early this century to resolve the long-running rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne over which city should be the nation's capital.