Ararat Rural City

Ararat Rural City was formed on 23 September 1994 by the union of Ararat city, the surrounding Ararat shire and parts of Mortlake and Mount Rouse shires. Its area is 4210 sq km and its administrative centre, Ararat, is about 200 km north-west of Melbourne.

The rural city's western boundary is in the Grampians mountain range and its eastern boundary passes through the Mount Buangor range. Most of the rest of the municipal area is undulating to flat, increasingly flat in the south as the area approaches the western lava plains.